Dragonfly, Standard Crypto invest $1.4 million in new DeFi derivatives platform

SynFutures, a decentralized derivatives exchange, has announced a $1.4 million fundraise as it launches the test net for the first version of its synthetic asset trading platform.

Standard Crypto and Dragonfly took part in the funding round, the valuation of which SynFutures declined to share.

Similar to DeFi projects like Synthetix, the SynFutures marketplace aims to allow users to launch tokens tied to a wide range of assets, including gold and stocks. 

In an interview with The Block, Rachel Lin — formerly head of DeFi and lending at Matrixport — said that the project differs from the competition because it offers a more open market relative to others. Whereas Synthetix decides which assets are to be listed on its platform, SynFutures will allow any market to launch that draws price data from Chainlink, Lin said. Assets on the platform will also trade as futures, with users having the ability to trade with leverage. 

SynFutures also plans to partner with Bitmain and Houbi on supporting hashrate derivatives — a product that allows traders to hedge or speculate on the bitcoin network's mining difficulty. 

The startup has more fundraising plans on the horizon. Lin said SynFutures is planning to raise a Series A round in either the first or second quarter of the year. 

The seed funding round's announcement comes during a period of expansion for the DeFi market, with volumes at decentralized exchanges as the percentage of centralized exchange volume growing since November, according to data compiled by The Block.