1inch Network is looking to raise at least $70 million in Series B funding

1inch Network, a decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator, is in the process of raising a large Series B funding round, The Block has learned.

The project is looking to raise the round via a token sale, according to a pitch document seen by The Block. Potential investors are being offered the token at a fixed price of $1.50 in the sale, which translates to a 50% discount than the token's current market price of around $3.

Andra Nicolau, growth lead at 1inch, confirmed the planned fundraise at a fixed price of $1.50 per token. The 1INCH token's total supply is 1.5 billion, and is current fully diluted valuation is around $4.4 billion, according to CoinGecko.

"Our token price has fluctuated a lot, which is what made us decide to lock in a fixed price," said Nicolau. Since its launch last December, 1INCH has traded in the range between $0.77 and $7.84.

Early-stage plan

1inch co-founder Sergej Kunz said that 1inch is "still in an early stage with the fundraise" and is looking to raise at least $70 million in a Series B funding round, but that amount could change.

1inch has previously raised a total funding amount of $14.8 million in two rounds. Its existing investors include Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Alameda Research, Binance Labs, ParaFi Capital, Blockchain Capital, Dragonfly Capital, and Spartan Group.

For the Series B, 1inch is looking for "smart money and value add contributors," said Nicolau. "We had more than 100 exploratory calls, but we are not yet accepting any commitments," she said.

A source with knowledge of the Series B deal told The Block that this time 1inch is looking to onboard investors from the traditional finance world and venture capital firms outside of crypto.

Expansion targets 

1inch was founded early last year as a two-person startup and has now grown to more than 65 people, said Nicolau. 1inch is looking to further expand its team size with around ten job openings currently.

As for its specific expansion plans, Nicolau said 1inch wants to onboard the next 10 million users in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space through its wallet. 1inch currently claims to have over 500,000 users on its platform.

Apart from its DEX aggregation protocol and wallet, 1inch also offers a liquidity protocol for crypto holders to earn passive income and a limit order protocol, which allows users to set a specific price target and terms of the trade.

Nicolau said this year 1inch will release two more protocols. "One of these protocols will offer further utility for our token as insurance token, which will enable permissionless interaction with it and will be a game-changer for DeFi," she said, without disclosing specific details.

1inch will raise its Series B round by partly selling tokens from its growth and development fund, said Nicolau. Separately, the project will also sell part of the tokens that are getting unlocked in December from its team and previous backers.

The new round's tokens will also have a lock-up period with linear vesting similar to previous rounds, said Nicolau. The pitch document seen by The Block mentions a lock-in period for 1.5 years and linear vesting every six months afterward for the round.

(Update, December 1: This story and its headline have been updated for clarity).