Corn Raises $8.3M to Deepen Bitcoin's Integration into the DeFi Ecosystem

Corn, an Ethereum Layer 2 network aiming to utilize Bitcoin within the decentralized finance ecosystem, has raised $8.3 million in a community funding round.

Ethereum Layer 2 network Corn has closed an $8.3 million community funding round to further its goal of integrating Bitcoin into the decentralized finance space.

The round was conducted via compliant token sale platform Legion and saw participation from 675 investors. Notably, venture and investment firms also joined the round, including Polychain, Amber, GSR, Presto, Laser Digital, and others.

According to Corn, both VCs and community investors participated on the same terms. The funding round was also oversubscribed, with demand exceeding supply by seven times and interest from over 4,200 investors.

While Corn is yet to become fully operational, the network aims to deepen Bitcoin’s integration into the DeFi ecosystem by enabling its use as a gas token via a new hybrid tokenized version called BTCN.

BTCN is described as Corn’s tokenized Bitcoin that is backed 1:1 by native Bitcoin and not limited by a single custodian or bridging solution.

In addition to BTCN, Corn will have its native token, CORN, to incentivize users and developers. Based on veTokenomics, Corn’s operating model requires users to lock their tokens to gain governance rights and participate in revenue sharing. Here, users can stake CORN to acquire popCORN, granting them governance rights and the ability to direct yields to network applications.

Previously, in August 2024, Corn announced a $6.7 million seed funding round led by Polychain Capital, with participation from Binance Labs, Framework Ventures, and others. This round was dedicated to facilitating the launch of the Corn ecosystem.

Technical integration-wise, Corn is built on Arbitrum’s Nitro Stack — a Layer 2 scaling solution — and utilizes LayerZero for interoperability. Corn also secures itself by integrating with the restaking protocol Babylon.