Bitrabo Editorial
Babylon, a startup established by Stanford University engineering Professor David Tse, has closed a funding round of $70 million to advance its mission of bridging Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) interoperability.
Bitcoin’s Role in Staking
According to reports, the investment was spearheaded by crypto venture capital firm Paradigm, with contributions from Polychain and Bullish Capital. The funds raised will aid Babylon in expanding its team, supporting research and development, and working to allow BTC to function as a “staking asset” for securing different blockchains.
With this recent funding, Babylon highlights a shift in venture capital interest towards Bitcoin-centric projects. While Ethereum has traditionally been favored for running decentralized finance applications easily, the rise of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Bitcoin blockchain and the approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US have sparked renewed excitement in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Professor David Tse suggests that Bitcoin is undergoing a renaissance, marked by a fresh wave of projects on the network. Despite newer chains gaining attention over the years, recent events such as the approval of Bitcoin ETFs and the Bitcoin “Halving” event have redirected the limelight back to BTC.
Maximizing Bitcoin’s Yield Potential
Babylon’s primary goal is to empower Bitcoin holders to engage in validating transactions on proof-of-stake (PoS) networks to earn yields on their idle Bitcoin assets. By enabling BTC as a staking asset, Babylon aims to allow Bitcoin holders to generate income from their holdings, tapping into the staking mechanism utilized in Ethereum and other proof-of-stake blockchains.
Aligning with the security needs of the Web3 ecosystem, Babylon believes that leveraging BTC’s market capitalization can bolster the security framework for the entire Web3 ecosystem. The emerging staking sector within the digital asset industry has seen projects like Lido Finance (LDO) and EigenLayer (EIGEN) attract substantial crypto deposits to generate returns.
Ultimately, Babylon aspires to propel the growth of staking and fortify the decentralized landscape evolving within the crypto sphere.
At present, BTC is trading at $68,550, marking a 2% increase in the last 24 hours, as it aims to surpass the critical $70,000 threshold.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com