TL;DR Breakdown
- ICHI raises $3.5 to empower crypto project.
- Platform is setting the tone for DeFi 3.0.
ICHI has announced that it raised $3.5 million in new funding to empower any crypto project with community-controlled DeFi capabilities that keep value locked in their community.
The firm (ICHI) is setting the stage for DeFi 3.0 by enabling crypto projects to effectively participate in and grow the decentralized economy without relying on centralized authorities or having to put their tokens up for sale.
Decentralized Finance protocols now account for more than $100 billion in value, but DeFi is risky and expensive for the projects that depend on it. This is because DeFi still largely relies on traditional Web2 business models where central authorities extract value from crypto projects. For example, crypto projects that need stable assets to conduct business are forced to sell their tokens in exchange for traditional stablecoins like USDC or USDT.
At the same time, traditional liquidity programs force crypto projects to put their tokens up for sale in exchange for necessary liquidity.
ICHI solves these problems by enabling any crypto project to create a sustainable economy that attracts users and keeps value locked in the community through stable branded dollar — called an ICHI one token — worth exactly $1 and uniquely backed by that project’s native token and A new DeFi-native liquidity program — dubbed an ICHI Angel Vault — that provides protection against price drops.
How ICHI raised $3.5 Million to Empower Crypto Protocols
The new funding was raised through a private token sale by the ICHI Foundation. Participants include Lattice Capital, Fundamental Labs, GSR Markets Limited, Baller Ventures, Woodstock Fund, TRGC Limited, Ellipti Ventures, Lightshift, Collider Ventures, LD Capital and others. These institutions will provide support through increased value in the protocol and strategic support and connections to other crypto projects that will benefit from ICHI’s protocols.
“ICHI Angel Vaults is solving the hassle of liquidity providers having to manage a Uniswap V3 position actively, and at the same time allowing projects to incentivize buy-side liquidity of their native token,” said Avishay Ovadia of Collider Ventures. “Effectively, this means that projects can decouple from Ethereum during down term moves while fully enjoying the upside during an ETH bull market.”
“We are excited to work with the ICHI team as a crucial vehicle that would help any DAO further grow its operation,” said John Kwak of Ellipti Ventures.
“ICHI is revolutionizing the way crypto projects put their tokens at work for the benefit of their own community,” said Simão Cruz of Lightshift Capital. “It has been incredible to see the team’s capacity to ship great products, always with the crypto ecosystem in mind.”
“Stablecoins are foundational infrastructure for crypto and are experiencing parabolic growth. We expect this to continue in the years ahead as economic activity continues to move on-chain,” said Micahel Zajko of Lattice Ventures. “Token projects are emerging as sovereign nations with their own governance systems and missions to increase the value of the native asset. ICHI sits at the confluence of these two trends, which positions it for significant growth in the years ahead.
“We’re humbled to have the support of so many leading firms who are at the forefront of DeFi,” said Bryan Gross, ICHI steward and CEO of DMA Labs. “Their support is going to be critical as we look to the next phase of growth.”
ICHI has already been used to launch nine branded dollars for the Uniswap, ShapeShift DAO, Filecoin, Fuse, 1inch, DODO communities and others. Users have minted more than $20 million in oneTokens, which provides crypto projects with a reliable, stable asset for payments and other transactions without the need to exchange for stablecoins.
