DeFi lending startup Notional Finance raises $10 million in Series A round

Ethereum-based crypto lending startup Notional Finance has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by Pantera Capital, according to a Thursday announcement.

The funding round included participation from Parafi Capital, 1Confirmation, Spartan Group and more. The influx of capital will be used to hire finance and technology professionals and continue to expand the team developing the protocol. 

Notional is a decentralized Ethereum-based protocol for borrowing and lending at fixed rates. The protocol launched earlier this year. According to the release, the protocol has over $17 million in total locked value (TVL) and has executed $9.5 million in loans. 

The team behind the protocol is currently working on Notional v2 and said the funds will be used to continue developing the protocol's next iteration. 

"This fundraise helps us put the right team in place to make it happen and build high-quality products that meet the demands of a new financial system," the announcement read. 

Notional's Series A round is the latest in a string of fundraises for crypto startups focus on lending in the decentralized finance space. These include Greenwood, Element Finance and Liquity, all of which have raised funding rounds in the past month.