ClayStack’s novel approach enables users to stake digital assets while avoiding liquidity lockup
NEW YORK – ClayStack, a next-generation staking platform for digital assets, today announced it has raised $5.2 million in a seed funding round co-led by leading blockchain-focused investment firm, CoinFund, and ParaFi Capital. The round also received participation from Coinbase Ventures, Spartan Group, HyperSphere, Defiance Capital, Hashed, Solana Foundation, The LAO, Genblock Capital, Ledger Prime, Animoca Brands, Republic Labs, and more.
ClayStack uses a novel approach that enables users to stake their digital assets while avoiding lockup periods. Users can deposit digital assets in ClayStack’s smart contracts in exchange for an equivalent liquid derivative token minted on any of the supported blockchains. The assets are then delegated to professional proof-of-stake blockchain validators, and rewards are sent daily to derivative token holders. Liquid derivatives can be further utilized to earn additional yields by building composable money legos within the DeFi ecosystem.
“The merging of DeFi and staking is a paradigm shift in cryptocurrency and this investment round will enable us to innovate from a position of strength as we head into our alpha launch,” said ClayStack Founder and CEO, Mohak Agarwal. “We appreciate being able to partner with CoinFund and Parafi Capital because they understand the technical side of our business and have taken a hands-on approach to bring our vision to life.”
“We believe ClayStack has developed an efficient solution that addresses the shortcomings of present-day liquid staking protocols,” said CoinFund Founder and CEO, Jake Brukhman. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the ClayStack team to grow the company at scale and make a significant impact on the world of decentralized finance.”
“Liquid staking is becoming increasingly important in a multi-chain world. We were impressed by Mohak’s background and his hands-on expertise in staking,” said Santiago R. Santos, General Partner, ParaFi Capital. “We’re excited to partner with the Claystack team as they build the inter-chain superhighway.”
The recent funding will help ClayStack redefine the current staking ecosystem by building a robust platform that is secure and open for all. DeFi participants can expect ClayStack’s alpha release in Q3 of 2021.
Additional investors in the seed round also include Meltem Demirors (Coinshares), Larry Cermak (The Block), Robert Leshner (Founder, Compound), Stani Kulechov (Founder, Aave), Kain Warwick (Founder, Synthetix), Sandeep Naiwal (Co-founder, Polygon), Stefan George (Co-founder, Gnosis), Illia Polosukhin (Founder, Near Protocol), Tegan Kline (The Graph), Tarun Chitra (Founder, Gauntlet Network), Raj Gokal (Co-founder, Solana), and Partners of True Ventures.
To learn more about ClayStack, visit https://claystack.com/.
About ClayStack
ClayStack is the next-generation blockchain-agnostic staking protocol that enables users to unlock the power of staked digital assets in the form of liquid staking derivative tokens. The ClayStack team consists of veteran blockchain professionals who have been part of this space since the launch of the early staking mechanisms. For more information, please visit www.claystack.com.
About CoinFund
CoinFund is a blockchain-focused investment firm founded in 2015 with the goal of shaping the global transition to digital assets and decentralized finance. The firm invests in venture and liquid opportunities within the blockchain sector with a focus on digital assets, decentralization technologies and key enabling infrastructure. The CoinFund team has studied and supported the development of the blockchain space from the inception of the first decentralized networks and brings together more than 30 years of experience in investing, engineering, law and decentralized protocols. For more information, please visit www.coinfund.io.
About ParaFi Capital
ParaFi Capital is a fundamental, research-driven alternative investment firm focused on blockchain and decentralized finance markets. ParaFi serves as both an investor and power user of DeFi. They are early-stage investors in many of the leading DeFi projects and also one of the largest liquidity providers across the ecosystem. The team has deep backgrounds in finance and technology with over a decade of cumulative institutional investing experience at leading asset management firms including KKR, Blackstone, and JP Morgan.
