MilkyWay CEO JayB Kim has announced that the Celestia liquid staking protocol, MilkyWay, has successfully raised $5 million in a funding round. The round was co-led by Binance Labs and Polychain Capital, with participation from other investors such as Hack VC, Crypto.com Capital, and LongHash Ventures. Binance Labs also expressed their support for MilkyWay, aiming to help it become a leading liquid staking protocol in the modular blockchain ecosystem.
The funding round, which began in December and concluded a month ago, involved a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) and token development. However, Kim did not disclose the valuation of the company.
Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of Binance, has been actively investing in staking and restaking ventures. They have recently invested in projects like Babylon, Renzo, Puffer Finance, and StakeStone. MilkyWay, which was launched in December, is the first Celestia liquid staking protocol and currently faces competition only from Stride.
According to JayB Kim, MilkyWay’s architectural design differs from that of Stride. While MilkyWay operates as a smart contract on Osmosis, Stride has its own Layer-1 blockchain. Kim claims that MilkyWay’s design is simpler and requires less operational and technical overhead to maintain the chain.
Currently, MilkyWay focuses solely on Celestia (TIA) token liquid staking within the modular ecosystem. In contrast, Stride supports liquid staking for multiple tokens, including TIA, Cosmos Hub (ATOM), dYdX (DYDX), Injective (INJ), and Juno (JUNO). Stride has approximately $135 million in total locked value, indicating a broader focus compared to MilkyWay.
The funds raised in the latest funding round will be used to further develop the protocol and attract liquid staking providers to the ecosystem. JayB Kim emphasized that MilkyWay aims to strengthen its position in the industry and become a leading player in the liquid staking space.
Disclaimer: This article does not provide investment advice. Investors should be aware of the high volatility and risks associated with cryptocurrencies and conduct their own research.
