Portal Raises $34 Million to Develop Decentralized Bitcoin Cross-Chain Swaps

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Fintech provider Portal has raised $34 million in seed funding to develop its Bitcoin-based decentralized exchange (DEX) which will aid cross-chain swaps between multiple networks.

In a Jan 30 announcement, the company disclosed an exit from stealth mode and an inflow of $34 million to build a layer-2 Atomic swap technology leveraging on security and user experience.

The funding round drew participants from cryptocurrency firms like Coinbase Ventures, Arrington Capital, Gate.io, OKX Ventures, and more. The company plans to develop a model for peer-to-peer (P2P) Atomic swapping of Bitcoin (BTC) without the regular intermediaries like bridges, centralized exchanges (CEX), wrappers, etc that can be susceptible to hacks.

Per the statement, the technology would enable users to swap Bitcoin across multiple networks after transaction times without compromising privacy and security.

“Portal intends to solve the problem of custodial risk once and for all using secure and transparent Layer 2 atomic swap technology. With the support of our investors, we look forward to introducing cross-chain infrastructure that finally enables users to execute trades quickly and safely.”

Portal will roll out its DEX and wallet as two flagship products on the back of the funding. While the DEX allows more efficient BTC swaps, the wallet is a non-custodial tool to receive and send cryptocurrencies across blockchains.

As part of its innovation roadmap, the company will launch products to users that have been only available to hedge funds and big-scale investors. Some products to be released include AI powers, API integration tools as well as other partnerships with Bitcoin firms.

Asset Security Takes Center Stage

The company disclosed that the security of investor assets has become an important theme in recent months following huge industry hacks that have seen over $2.5 billion drained from bridges in the past two years.

Last year saw the HECO/HTX and the Orbit Bridge attack leading to millions in losses and wider scrutiny from authorities and users on the safety of assets within the cryptocurrency space.

Orbit Suspends Cross-Chain Bridge Contract After $82M Exploit: Beosin

Just hours before welcoming the new year, hackers exploited Orbit Bridge, the cross-chain bridging service of Orbit Chain, making off with a staggering $82 million.#CrpytoNewshttps://t.co/e04HbGOdH3

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) January 1, 2024

Chandra Duggirala, the co-founder and CEO of Portal stated that bridges and custodial solutions have been plagued with risks from the onset but Portal seeks to solve the problem through a fast and secure technology.

“From the very early days of Mt. Gox to FTX, centralized exchanges have been a persistent source of risk to user funds. Now, the risk remains, but it has taken a new form in bridges and other custodial cross-chain solutions.”

Michael Arrington, the CEO of Arrington Capital noted that the company is setting the pace on what decentralized finance (DeFi) is on Bitcoin.

“Portal is rapidly pushing ahead the Bitcoin ecosystem by enabling fast and low-cost economic activity without being beholden to third parties. As one of the largest asset classes, Bitcoin will be more accessible and secure for individuals thanks to Portal’s unique approach to access, security, and products.”

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