Coinspeaker
DeFi Protocol Grove Secures $7.9M in Funding for Business Expansion
In a significant move towards bolstering its decentralized finance (DeFi) operations, Grove, formerly known as Pocket Network Inc, has raised $7.9 million from prominent institutional investors, CoinDesk informed on Thursday.
According to the report, citing an emailed statement, the investment round garnered support from major venture capital companies, including Fidelity-affiliated Avon Ventures, Placeholder Capital, and Druid Ventures.
DeFi Protocol Grove to Expand Its Business Offerings
The platform, which provides innovative solutions to software developers and businesses for building and deploying apps atop its ecosystem, plans to use the new capital to expand its business offerings and foster strategic collaborations within the crypto industry.
The move aims to propel the adoption of its innovative decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) into the mainstream.
For clarity, DePIN serves as the decentralized counterpart to industry giants like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud, presenting a cost-effective and efficient solution for developers and businesses.
It uses blockchain technology and token incentives to develop physical infrastructure networks. This revolutionary concept eliminates the need for external projects to bear the financial burdens associated with procuring and maintaining their tools and equipment.
Grove’s Native Token Surges to New High
Buoyed by the news of the fundraising, the platform’s native token POKT experienced a notable increase over the past 24 hours.
According to CoinMarketCap data, the token saw a 24% rise, trading at $0.10. The move propelled its market capitalization to a new high of over $150 million.
With many protocols currently exploring the DeFi ecosystem, Grove offers Web3 infrastructure that empowers developers and businesses to create and deploy applications seamlessly on its POKT network.
The platform currently supports over 40 chains, gaining prominence within the industry for its versatility and robust capabilities.
Not the First
Meanwhile, Grove is not the only DeFi protocol that has recently received funding from investors.
On November 9, Deri Protocol, a decentralized derivatives exchange, received an undisclosed investment under the BNB Chain’s $1B Growth Fund established to help DeFi projects scale for mainstream adoption.
In October, Elixir secured $7.5 million in a series A funding round led by Hack VC after completing its seed funding in January, bringing its total valuation to $100 million.
The new round saw participation from NGC Ventures, AngelList Ventures, Bloccelerate, Genesis Trading, and Hudson River Trading. The protocol plans to use the capital infusion to expand its business and increase its workforce.
Another DeFi platform, Maverick Protocol, raised $9 million in June from Pantera Capital, Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, and Apollo Crypto.
Like others, the protocol aims to use the funding to bolster the adoption of the DeFi sector by developing more efficient Liquid Staking Token (LST) infrastructures and rectifying cross-chain liquidity inefficiencies.
Additionally, the money will go into building new chains within the network, providing support for developers using its infrastructure, and attracting more projects to its expanding ecosystem.
DeFi Protocol Grove Secures $7.9M in Funding for Business Expansion
