Folks Finance has closed a $3.2 Million funding round increasing the total investment into Folks to $6.2 Million
November 14th, 2024 — Folks Finance, a cross-chain decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, has raised $3.2 million in a Strategic Round, bringing its valuation to $75 million.
Borderless Capital led the round, with participation from Algorand Ventures, Mapleblock Capital, Sovo Ventures and others. Folks Finance co-founder and CEO Benedetto Biondi told The Block that the platform initially aimed to raise $2 million at a $50 million valuation, but ultimately exceeded this target due to investor interest.
The first $2 million of the round was raised in February of this year, with the remaining $1.2 million raised more recently, Biondi said. With the Series A round, Folks Finance’s total funding now stands at $6.2 million. Previously, it raised $3 million in a seed round from backers including Coinbase Ventures, Jump Crypto, OKX Ventures and ParaFi Capital.
Folks Finance is a cross-chain DeFi platform that enables users to lend, borrow, trade and manage digital assets across multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Avalanche, BNB Chain, and Algorand. Nearly three years after hitting mainnet, following an all-time-high of $220 Million in TVL reached in 2024, and currently empowering 15,000 monthly active wallets, Algorand’s largest app plans to bring its full set of tools to new networks.
By leveraging Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), Wormhole, and Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP), xChain allows anyone to deposit assets on one chain and borrow on another, offering unmatched flexibility and efficiency across ecosystems.
Biondi said the platform can integrate both Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible and non-EVM-compatible chains. He added that Folks Finance plans to support more blockchains, including Consensys-incubated Layer 2 network Linea, Polygon, Optimism and ZKsync.
Folks is building the onchain alternative to Centralized Crypto Exchanges by combining simple tools into the ideal hub for portfolio management. By linking the liquidity of fragmented networks, Folks is able to offer more efficient, and transparent access to multiple networks. The Folks toolset includes lending and borrowing, swaps, loan looping, liquid staking, leveraged liquid staking, and a DEX router. Part of the fundraise will accelerate the development of Folks’ mobile app, set for release in 2025.
Contributors to the Strategic Round include Borderless Capital, SOVO Ventures, BlackDragon, Algorand Ventures, Mapleblock, Dutch Crypto Investors, DuckDao, DeWhales, Titan Ventures, Selini Capital, Roham Gharegozlou as an angel investor, DEXT Force Ventures, Offbeat VC, Evo Invest, Absoluta Digital, CryptoSociety, HC Capital, Stakez Capital, Skybridge 20, Coinvision, DIB Ventures, Majinx Labs, 2x17, Suin, Danu Ventures, Trinity Ventures, Moon Capital, Unreal Capital, and Black Alpha Capital.
The diverse consortium of investors highlights the conviction which industry leaders hold in Folks Finance’s vision and its potential to redefine the DeFi landscape.
“Folks has now passed an important additional milestone in its path,” said Benedetto Biondi, CEO of Folks Finance. “We’ve been working intensively with the team to onboard the right partners for our future growth and expansion. Now that the round is done, we’re very excited about what our new investors can provide for Folks Finance in 2024 and beyond.”
“We’ve been proud supporters of Folks Finance since the very beginning. With a strong foundation in place, we see tremendous opportunities ahead for them to scale and expand their business. They’re tackling one of DeFi’s most pressing issues: the fragmentation of liquidity across isolated ecosystems. They are redefining interoperability by offering users an intuitive and seamless way to manage assets across multiple networks. This approach will drive a new standard in crosschain liquidity; we are excited for a future full of growth and innovation for Folks,” said Amit Mehra, Partner at Borderless Capital.
The successful funding round reaffirms Folks Finance’s intention to be a major protocol in the DeFi sector. With an ambitious roadmap and the backing of tier-1 investors, Folks Finance is positioned to drive the next wave of financial innovation.
The Folks Finance team comprises 20 members, and Biondi plans to expand by hiring backend and frontend developers, and professionals focused on regional community growth.
Folks Finance is a DeFi hub pioneering innovations in lending, borrowing, trading, and managing of digital assets seamlessly across multiple blockchains. Folks streamlines the DeFi experience with an experience competitive to centralized exchanges, all while built on permissionless smart contract technology. Learn more at at folks.finance.
