Mezo, a Bitcoin (BTC) layer-2 (L2) community, has emerged from stealth mode with $21 million in enterprise capital.
Pantera Capital led the funding spherical. Multicoin, Hack VC, ParaFi Capital, Nascent, Draper Associates, Primitive Ventures and Uneven Ventures joined the hassle.
Particular person traders, together with Dan Held, Tim Draper, and the pseudonymous DCF God, additionally participated.
Thesis, a blockchain enterprise studio that developed Mezo, confirmed the fundraising spherical, earlier this week.
Mezo operates as a permissionless Bitcoin financial layer, using a impartial sensible contract framework to supply quite a lot of functions. It joins the current wave of Bitcoin L2 networks, aiming to broaden its utility past buying and selling.
Noteworthy counterparts embody Babylon and Stacks, which deal with options, together with staking for Bitcoin customers.
Thesis reportedly began the fundraising marketing campaign for Mezo in December 2023, culminating within the $21 million spherical closure.
In response to Thesis, Mezo capabilities as a “permissionless Bitcoin financial layer,” leveraging a impartial sensible contract infrastructure to facilitate varied person functions.
The platform’s design goals to reinforce Bitcoin’s infrastructure, enabling cost-effective and swift transactions. Customers can achieve entry to functions utilizing Bitcoin throughout varied domains, thereby fostering a dynamic round economic system.
A standout function of Mezo is its “Proof of HODL” factors program, which incentivizes customers to actively have interaction with Bitcoin holdings inside the platform.
Thesis CEO and Mezo founder Matt Luongo emphasised that Mezo seeks to rework Bitcoin holdings from idle property to actively engaged property inside the community, rewarding customers for contributing to community safety.
The platform will function a Bitcoin-backed Ethereum (ETH) token, tBTC, which is designed to allow customers to take part in Ethereum’s decentralized finance (defi) ecosystem whereas holding Bitcoin.
Following the profitable funding spherical, Mezo has reported that its whole worth locked (TVL) now stands at greater than $75 million with greater than a thousand lively addresses.
The Mezo funding comes as enterprise capitalists categorical renewed curiosity within the crypto house. Through the first three months of 2024, international traders put $2.5 billion in startups, according to PitchBook.