Bitfinex invests in LN Markets — derivatives exchange built on top of Bitcoin’s Lightning Network

LN Markets, a crypto derivatives exchange built on top of Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, has raised an undisclosed sum of money in a pre-seed round.

The round saw participation from crypto exchange Bitfinex and investment firms Arcane Crypto and Fulgur Ventures. With the fresh funding in place, LN Markets plans to further develop its platform to offer users a better trading experience.

LN Markets was launched in March of this year and helps users to trade directly via a Lightning wallet. “With LN Markets, traders can instantly access Bitcoin markets, post margin and claim P&L [profit and loss] instantly in a trust-minimized environment,” the exchange said at the time of its launch. “Counterparty risk is reduced at its minimum.” The Lightning Network is a Layer-2 scaling solution for the Bitcoin network, aimed at facilitating faster and cheaper transactions.

“When we look at a project such as LN Markets, we see a direct application of the technologies that we love,” said Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Bitfinex. “It is therefore important for us to provide funding and to participate in such an innovative venture.”

Developed by bitcoin startup ITO, LN Markets currently has trade limits set at 0.01 bitcoin per trader. The exchange said its users have so far executed more than 25,000 trades, worth over $10 million in volume.