Non-custodial staking provider P2P.org has raised $23 million in Series A funding from investors, including Jump Crypto, Bybit, and Sygnum.
Founded in 2018, P2P.org provides staking infrastructure for Ethereum and 49 other blockchain programs, including Cardano and Cosmos. The company's institutional staking solutions, including white label nodes and slashing insurance, have been used to stake more than $1.3 billion worth of assets, according to a press release. It plans to use the newly raised funds to expand its portfolio to include more chains in the Ethereum space, including Celestia, Sui, and Aleo.
P2P.org also plans to expand its business model, focusing on building a stronger community, enhancing consumer support, improving customer experience, and elevating current infrastructure, according to a press release.
P2P.org credits the successful round of funding to the recent Shanghai Upgrade, which it hopes will increase institutional interest in staking Ethereum. Institutional interest in staking on Ethereum has historically been lower compared to other blockchains, according to Konstantin Lomashuk, founder of P2P.org. But the upgrade has already resulted in increased staking of Ethereum across the board.
Though Ethereum is seeing more inflows, digital assets firm CoinShares reported institutional investors are still prioritizing investments in Bitcoin. More than $104 million was reported in Bitcoin inflows as of Monday. As of Thursday morning, Bitcoin is trading for $28,650.40, down 2% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.
“We are pleased to announce this fundraising round with our strategic investors,” Lomashuk said. “Now that the upgrade is complete and as the market continues to expand, we may expect ETH staking to grow significantly in market size.”
Saurabh Sharma, Head of Investments at Jump Crypto, is optimistic about the opportunity. “We are excited to participate in this funding round and continue to leverage their cross-chain expertise,” Sharma said.
Bill Xing, Head of Financial Product of Bybit, said in the release that he thinks the P2P.org will enhance the mission of Web3, with the ultimate goal of putting control of the economy into people’s hands.
“The third iteration of the internet was born with the promise of decentralization and democratization of finance,” he said. “We are proud to associate the Bybit name with P2P.org, the most trusted validator and infrastructure provider in the space. We look forward to elevating the space for believers in the digital economy together.”
Ethereum, at the time of writing, is trading at $1,841.33, down 2% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. This after Ethereum recently broke past $2,000 for the first time in months.