December 15th 2022
UNION CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Finterest, the first crypto lending protocol available on the Internet Computer (ICP) built to support native Bitcoin borrowing and lending, today announced the close of its $1.5 million seed round. Notable investors include Polychain Capital via the Beacon Fund, an Internet Computer-focused ecosystem fund, and 9Yards Capital, among others.
Founded in 2022 by 24-year-olds Olliver Barr and Carl Sachs, Finterest is the first bridgeless borrowing and lending protocol available on the Internet Computer, a blockchain network that can execute up to 11,500 transactions per second with a 1-second finality. As the first crypto lending protocol on the ICP, Finterest delivers completely decentralized lending and borrowing options through faster, trustless code implementation and fewer vulnerabilities. Finterest’s bridgeless approach provides increased transparency, greater reliability, stronger security, and a more beneficial relationship between blockchains.
Finterest’s seed funding will enable the company to continue expanding its team and building its platform ahead of its beta launch in January 2023 and official launch shortly thereafter. Features Finterest intends to develop with the proceeds include its multi-sig wallet and data oracle solution, FinnyFeed, that went live in October 2022.
“The recent industry events underscore the importance of true decentralization and transparency on the blockchain,” said Olliver Barr and Carl Sachs, Co-Founders of Finterest. “We are grateful for our investors and look forward to expanding our capabilities through this fundraise to help web3 reach mass adoption by making decentralized finance safer and simpler to use.”
“In order to onboard the masses to web3 and decentralized finance specifically, platforms will need to become increasingly user-friendly, transparent, and secure,” said Alexa Smith, Beacon Fund Manager, Polychain. “Finterest is tackling this by reducing centralization points across their entire tech stack, from hosting their front-end on-chain to building their own smart contract-based oracle solution. We are excited to support the Finterest team as they bring better, safer experiences to users.”
“There is a clear and loud need for a lending solution like Finterest that eliminates the reliance on bridges that are inherently inundated with disadvantages and risks,” said David Fisher, Managing Partner at 9Yards Capital. “Finterest is providing a truly decentralized and bridgeless lending platform to DeFi users and we are excited to back them throughout their journey to bring much-needed transparency to the blockchain.”
About Finterest
Finterest is the first native Bitcoin borrowing and lending platform, trustlessly operated on The Internet Computer. Finterest’s bridge-free approach to crypto lending enables users to borrow and lend native Bitcoin, ICP, and Stablecoins with ease.
To learn more, please visit us at linktr.ee/finterest and follow us at @FinterestICP.
Carissa Felger/Genevieve Pirrong
Gasthalter & Co.
(212) 257-4170