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WOO unveils innovation hub focused on Bitcoin’s ecosystem

  • WOO plans innovation hub expansion to bolster Bitcoin’s ecosystem
  • The new initiative will focus on projects bringing Bitcoin Layer-2s, RWA, DeFi, AI and DePIN to the Bitcoin ecosystem.

WOO has announced plans aimed at using its innovation hub and the WOO token to power the next growth chapter for the Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem.

WOO, which features a top CEX platform WOO X and top DEX platform WOOFi, revealed its latest initiative at Token2049 week in Dubai.

What are WOO’s plans to bolster BTC ecosystem?

According to a recently published announcement, WOO’s Europe-based innovation center will be expanded to tap into the native WOO token’s potential in driving the new era of decentralized projects on Bitcoin.

WOO’s strategic plans will initially target new growth verticals such as artificial intelligence (AI), Bitcoin L2s,  Real World Assets (RWA), Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) and DeFi within the BTC ecosystem.

The project’s goal is to ramp up WOO-aligned products across these verticals, with development focused on leveraging the WOO token. Projects will receive grants among other support, to work on these objectives, Ben Yorke, VP of Ecosystem, said in a statement.

“Our ecosystem can provide resources, such as access to liquidity, market makers, users, and partners, which will create a powerful flywheel effect as more high-quality builders become aligned with WOO,” Yorke noted.

Projects or teams that join the WOO Innovation hub will be selected on the basis of their commitment to AI, RWA, DeFi, and BTC L2 innovation. The criteria will also include their capacity and ability to integrate the WOO token, Yorke added.

The Bitcoin ecosystem has attracted a lot of developer attention in recent months, with innovative projects looking to tap into the top blockchain network’s security and traction. Experts have also opined that the burgeoning BTC L2 ecosystem could be a huge market in coming years.

As well as the highlighted sectors, there’s gaming and NFTs, the latter seeing great developments since the launch of Bitcoin Ordinals.

The post WOO unveils innovation hub focused on Bitcoin’s ecosystem appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Puffer Finance raises $18 million in new funding round

  • Puffer Finance secures $18 million in funding round led by Brevan Howard Digital and Electric Capital.
  • Crypto exchanges Coinbase and Kraken also invest in the Ethereum liquid restaking protocol.

Puffer Finance, an Ethereum liquid staking protocol on Eigenlayer, has raised $18 million in its latest funding round.

An announcement on Tuesday says Brevan Howard Digital and Electric Capital led the Series A funding round.

Puffer’s financing effort also attracted the participation of several top venture capital firms, including Fidelity, Coinbase Ventures, Franklin Templeton, and Consensys. Other key investments were by Kraken Ventures, Lemniscap, Mechanism, Lightspeed Faction and Animoca.

As a liquid restaking protocol, Puffer Finance allows ETH stakers to contribute to Ethereum’s decentralization by staking just 1 Ether (ETH). This is far less than the 32 ETH an individual staker needs to earn Ethereum staking rewards.

The project’s Liquid Restaking Token (LRT) also allows holders to earn yield from other DeFi projects.

Puffer Finance growth

Puffer Finance has so far raised $23.5 million as it moves closer to its mainnet launch. The Series A round follows a $5.5 million seed round raised in 2023 that venture capital firms Lemniscap and Lightspeed Faction co-led.

Puffer has recently partnered projects such as Ethereum L2 platform CyberConnect, DeFi’s yield hub Balancer and multi-chain interoperability platform Wormhole.

According to DeFiLlama data, Puffer’s TVL stands at around $1.15 billion. The total value locked reached $1.5 billion in mid-March.

The post Puffer Finance raises $18 million in new funding round appeared first on CoinJournal.