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The decentralized finance (DeFi) deep liquidity provider WOO Network has raised additional $12 million in a series A funding round led by Binance Labs. On January 4, Binance Labs announced the $12 million strategic investment in WOO Network, which is the second leg of the series A funding round. In November last year, WOO Network raised 30 million, a fundraise that saw firms such as BitTorrent, Avalanche, Crypto.com Capital, and Three Arrows Capital participating in the event. The DeFi platform plans to use the newly raised funding for rapid expansion through research and development, talent acquisition, and development of new decentralized products.
The announcement showed that WOO Network began offering liquidity on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) last year.
Ran Yi, Chief of Ecosystem Development at WOO Network, talked about the development and recognized Binance as the largest exchange with the highest concentration of users and volume. “Getting the opportunity to formalize our relationship with Binance will allow us to rapidly accelerate our growth by working closer with Binance across all their industry verticals,” he elaborated.
Meanwhile, Peter Huo, Binance Labs Investment Director, stated: “WOO Network adds significant value to the crypto ecosystem by providing deep liquidity and zero-fee trading both on- and off-chain. We are excited to expand our long-lasting relationship and explore further collaborations, especially on [Binance Smart Chain].”
Last year, WOO Network launched WOOFI, a DEX with the low slippage and best possible pricing, and started providing liquidity on Binance SMART chain. WOOFI Swap uses the institutional market-making techniques and liquidity network to reduce slippage and improve pricing. WOO Network offers liquidity to more than 40 institutions, wallets, trading teams, exchanges, and decentralized applications. For instance, the platform offers liquidity to decentralized protocols like DODO, ParaSwap, DYDX, 1inch, and Matcha. Other products being offered by the company include the retail-focused WOO X, which combines deep liquidity and zero-free trading, and WOO Trade, a platform for institutional investors.
Why VCs Are Investing Billions Into Crypto
The development by Binance Labs leading the fundraising event in WOO Network comes at a time when the crypto industry sees fast maturity, with many people comparing it with the gold rush. With the industry’s maturity, users are starting to see a flood of retail and traditional investors flocking to the crypto and blockchain landscape. Venture capital funds such as Digital Currency Group, Coinbase Ventures, Pantera Capital, Fenbushi Capital, and other institutional investors are increasingly eyeing crypto and blockchain businesses to see if there is profit to be made in financing them. Cryptocurrency startups have plenty of equity, and the general public is turning to view them as viable investment vehicles. Venture capital funds consisting of a pool of investors wish to make a huge amount of money quickly. Fund managers of various crypto and blockchain startups send out prospectus (proposal) to potential investors inviting them to participate in fundraising events. However, VC fund managers spend a significant amount of time reviewing thousands of crypto and blockchain projects to determine growth potential. Venture capital firms are normally prudent investors and they like to spread their bets. In this manner they don’t risk putting all their money in one basket.