FastLane Labs, a maximal extractable value (MEV) protocol for Polygon, has secured $2.3 million in seed funding, with leading crypto-focused investment firm Multicoin Capital at the helm of the investment round. This funding represents Multicoin’s third involvement in supporting MEV infrastructure, a contentious method that allows validators to increase their earnings by determining the order of transactions within blockchain blocks.
FastLane Labs Has Raised $2.3 million In seed funding Which Led By Multicoin Capital
Multicoin Capital, a crypto-focused investment firm, has spearheaded a $2.3 million seed funding round for FastLane Labs, an MEV (maximal extractable value) protocol designed for Polygon. This fundraising effort signifies Multicoin’s third foray into supporting MEV infrastructure, a contentious method employed by validators to increase their earnings by organizing transactions within blockchain blocks.
MEV serves as a means for miners or validators to profit from the arrangement or order of pending blockchain transactions prior to their inclusion in a block. The specifics of earning MEV may vary across different chains, but it is common for traders to engage in a high volume of attempts or spamming to maximize potential profits.
FastLane Labs, established in March 2022, offers an auction system that enables validators to earn rewards without resorting to blockchain spamming. Polygon validators receive tips in the native MATIC token from traders competing for specific positions within blocks.
These off-chain auctions occur externally to minimize redundant transactions on the network. In an interview with CoinDesk, FastLane co-founder and CEO Alex Watts highlighted the distinctiveness of FastLane from other Polygon MEV protocols, emphasizing that validators can participate using their existing Polygon clients rather than needing to download a new proprietary client.
We actually didn’t originally intend to raise capital,” said Watts. “We were planning to sort of bootstrap the whole way … Then we were approached by Multicoin Capital, and they actually pitched us a few ideas that we thought were really fascinating
co-founder and CEO Alex Watts
We realized that by working with them, and by raising capital, we could actually become much larger than we had originally been planning.
co-founder and CEO Alex Watts
According to Watts, discussions with Multicoin began in late August of the previous year, at a time when FastLane lacked a corporate structure and even a pitch deck to present to potential investors. The extended duration of the fundraising period allowed FastLane’s legal team to establish the necessary infrastructure.
Notable participants in this funding round included Polygon Ventures, Shima Capital, Delphi Ventures, Everstake Ventures, a41 Ventures, and Symbolic Capital, the venture capital fund established by Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal.
Multicoin Capital’s initial investment related to MEV occurred in September 2021 when they led a $17.4 million round for Eden Network, a multi-chain infrastructure aimed at mitigating the negative effects of MEV on a network. Subsequently, in August of the same year, the firm co-led a $10 million funding round for Jito Labs, an infrastructure provider focused on MEV within the Solana ecosystem.
As DeFi on Polygon continues to blossom we expect more MEV opportunities to emerge.
Shayon Sengupta, investment partner at Multicoin Capital
Polygon FastLane today represents the best way to get exposure to DeFi activity within the Polygon ecosystem … MEV protocols do more than create additional revenue streams for validators; they are now critical infrastructure that helps maintain the stability and usability of any given network.
Shayon Sengupta, investment partner at Multicoin Capital
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