QUICK BITE
- Bitcoin restaking platform SatLayer raises $8M in a pre-seed funding round led by major investors like Hack VC and Franklin Templeton.
- SatLayer pioneers the restaking of Bitcoin and liquid-staking tokens on the Babylon protocol, enabling users to earn additional rewards from proof-of-stake networks.
- SatLayer’s fundraising surpasses the initial $4M goal, reaching $8M in just a month, with potential interest up to $16M.
Bitcoin restaking platform SatLayer has secured $8 million in pre-seed funding led by Hack VC and Castle Island Ventures, with support from Franklin Templeton, OKX Ventures, Mirana Ventures, Amber Group, Big Brain Holdings, CMS Holdings, and others.
SatLayer also received investments from several undisclosed angel investors connected to companies like aPriori, Custodia Bank, LayerZero, Manta Network, Magic Eden, Sui, and Pendle.
SatLayer is a Bitcoin restaking platform on the Babylon staking protocol, a protocol that connects Bitcoin to yield-generating proof-of-stake networks. This allows users to earn extra rewards by locking up their staked assets in various protocols. While other platforms like Symbiotic offer Bitcoin restaking, SatLayer is the first to do so on the Babylon protocol.
With SatLayer, users can restake their Bitcoin and liquid-staking tokens from platforms such as Solv Protocol, Lombard, Bedrock, pStake, and PumpBTC to secure Bitcoin-validated services (BVSs).
Raising $8 million in a pre-seed round is a big deal. SatLayer co-founder Luke Xie mentioned that they initially aimed for $4 million, but the demand was so high when fundraising started in April that they quickly surpassed their goal, raising double the amount in just a month. There was potential to raise up to $16 million from interested investors.
Xie pointed out that there was strong interest in making Bitcoin a core collateral asset to secure decentralized applications and infrastructure, which would strengthen the entire ecosystem.
The pre-seed round was done through a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) with token warrants, though Xie didn’t disclose the company’s valuation.
