Solv Protocol Raises $11M to Bring Bitcoin Staking to More Investors

Solv Protocol plans to use the capital injection to support further adoption of Bitcoin staking through the Staking Abstraction Layer.

Solv Protocol, a platform that enables Bitcoin (BTC) staking, has secured $11 million in a strategic funding round, led by Nomura’s Laser Digital and Blockchain Capital.

The round, announced on Oct. 14, also saw participation from gumi Cryptos Capital, OKX Ventures, and CMT Digital. The capital will be used to support further adoption of Bitcoin staking.

Solv Protocol’s flagship product, Staking Abstraction Layer (SAL), allows Bitcoin holders to stake their coins on multiple protocols and chains to tap into various staking opportunities in the growing decentralized finance (DeFi) market.

According to Solv, the new fundraising was at a $200 million valuation.

The development comes amid a growing趨勢 in Bitcoin staking, with the launch of several platforms offering services to stake the top digital asset.

In September, Babylon Protocol raised $5.5 million in a seed funding round to build a decentralized network for Bitcoin staking.

Despite the increasing efforts, the Bitcoin staking market still significantly lags behind that of Ethereum (ETH).

The market for staking ETH is dominated by Lido and EigenLayer, among other platforms, and has seen billions of dollars in value being staked.

However, Solv is optimistic about the potential for Bitcoin staking, given the large size of the BTC market, which currently boasts a total market capitalization of more than $1.3 trillion.

“Bitcoin’s staking rate is currently much lower than Ethereum’s 28%. If we can unlock similar levels of participation, Bitcoin staking could unlock $330 billion in value. We believe BTCFi will drive the next wave of innovation in the blockchain space,” said Ryan Chow, co-founder and CEO of Solv Protocol.

According to Solv, Staking Amplifiers (STAs) — a term coined by the platform — are designed to complement Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs) that enable BTC to be staked on different chains.

SolvBTC, a derivative token that represents staked BTC, currently has over 20,000 BTC, valued at more than $1.3 billion in total value locked (TVL), staked on 10 blockchain networks.