BOB, a bitcoin (BTC) decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol combining the safety of Bitcoin with Ethereum’s DeFi capabilities, has raised $9.5 million in a strategic funding spherical.
The funding deliver BOB’s (“Construct on Bitcoin”) complete funds raised to $21 million, following previous raises in 2024.
The stocks elevate might be used to fund BOB’s imaginative and prescient of constructing the “Gateway to Bitcoin DeFi” by launching a mainnet BitVM bridge and enabling Bitcoin finality by way of staked BTC later this 12 months. It will permit customers to bridge BTC from the Bitcoin community and deploy it throughout DeFi protocols on BOB.
Fortress Island Ventures, which led BOB’s $10 million seed spherical, additionally contributed to the stocks elevate, alongside Ledger, RockawayX, IOSG Ventures and Bankless Ventures. Anchorage, Amber Group, and Sats Ventures joined as new buyers, in accordance with an emailed announcement on Thursday.
“By combining BitVM and BTC staking, we’re proving how Bitcoin can safe a whole DeFi ecosystem,” mentioned co-founder Alexei Zamyatin. “A guess on BOB is a guess on Bitcoin DeFi itself.”
The mainnet launch is predicted by the tip of the 12 months.