Ellipsis Labs, a prominent player in the crypto exchange sector, recently secured $20 million in Series A funding, with Paradigm taking the lead in the investment round. This funding will enable Ellipsis Labs to further expand its decentralized finance (DeFi) technology stack. Joining Paradigm in the investment round was Electric Capital, along with support from notable figures such as Justin Drake and Mike Neuder from the Ethereum Foundation, Sreeram Kannan from EigenLayer, Anatoly Yakovenko from Solana Labs, Uri Klarman from bloXroute, and others. Ellipsis Labs is best known for developing Phoenix, a decentralized exchange (DEX) with an on-chain order book built on the Solana blockchain. In August 2023, the company raised $3.3 million in seed funding, with Electric Capital leading the investment round.
Phoenix, the platform developed by Ellipsis Labs, currently boasts a total value locked (TVL) of $14.31 million and recorded a trading volume of $238.79 million in the past 24 hours, according to data from DefiLlama. DefiLlama ranks Phoenix as the eighth-largest DEX on Solana based on TVL. Phoenix aims to revolutionize trade settlements by eliminating the need for a “crank,” a mechanism that facilitates asynchronous trade settlements in blockchain ecosystems like Solana, enabling multiple transactions to occur simultaneously without waiting for each to finalize before initiating the next. Additionally, Phoenix provides users with on-chain market event data, including placed limit orders, fills, and canceled limit orders, offering transparency and access to Phoenix’s complete activity history.
Ellipsis Labs set out 1.5 years ago to build better on-chain liquidity primitives. The company’s first protocol, PhoenixTrade, is a fully on-chain orderbook on Solana, combining the efficiency of orderbooks with the accessibility and transparency of DeFi. In a tweet, Ellipsis Labs emphasized the importance of combining the decentralized benefits of DeFi with the liquidity and efficiency found in traditional finance. The company will be using the new funding to accelerate the progress of DeFi, up and down the stack. Moreover, Paradigm, the leading investor in Ellipsis Labs’ funding round, is reportedly in discussions to raise up to $850 million for a new fund. This potential fundraise comes as crypto markets have witnessed a recovery in recent months, and if successful, it would be Paradigm’s largest raise since announcing a $2.5 billion fund in November 2021.
Paradigm’s investment portfolio includes notable crypto firms such as Coinbase, Blur, dYdX, Compound, and Citadel Securities. The firm is also leading a funding round aimed at elevating the valuation of Merkle Manufactory, the company behind the social network Farcaster, to the $1 billion mark. Additionally, Paradigm has played a key role in supporting crypto firms in legal battles, including filing a legal brief in support of the prediction market platform Kalshi in a legal battle against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Last year, Paradigm challenged the SEC’s attempt to expand its jurisdiction over crypto secondary markets. The firm has a track record of supporting and investing in innovative projects in the crypto space, positioning itself as a key player in the industry.
The funding secured by Ellipsis Labs will enable the company to further develop and expand its DeFi technology stack, with a focus on improving on-chain liquidity primitives and enhancing trade settlements. Phoenix, the platform developed by Ellipsis Labs, is gaining traction in the market, with a significant TVL and trading volume on the Solana blockchain. The company’s collaboration with Paradigm, along with support from other key players in the industry, highlights the potential for growth and innovation in the crypto exchange sector. As Paradigm seeks to raise a new fund, it is poised to continue its investment in disruptive projects and technologies that have the potential to reshape the financial landscape. The partnership between Ellipsis Labs and Paradigm represents a significant milestone in the evolution of decentralized finance and showcases the potential for further advancements in the crypto space.
