Solana is raising as much as $450 million in bid to take on Ethereum: report

The team behind the Solana blockchain is in the process of raising a large sum of money in a bid to take on Ethereum, according to a report by Decrypt. 

The project — which is best known for powering FTX's decentralized exchange Serum — could raise anywhere from $300 million to $450 million from the raise, but the exact figure is unclear from Decrypt's report. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko did not respond to a message from The Block seeking further clarity about the raise. 

Solana's blockchain promises more scalability through a new consensus mechanism known as Proof of History. It appears to be favorable among traders. Serum, which FTX announced in July, has seen its trading volumes top $1.6 billion last month, as per The Block's data dashboard. 

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The ecosystem for Solana appears to be growing at a fast clip. A number of projects building on the blockchain have launched recently. Jump Trading — one of the largest high-frequency trading shops — announced Pyth, a Solana-based project that would bring Wall Street's vast amount of market data on chain.  

Last week, the Solana Foundation announced a $20 million fund to build out the ecosystem in South Korea.

In 2019, Solana announced the completion of a $20 million fundraise led by Multicoin Capital. Other investors include Blocktower Capital, Slow Ventures, and Passport Capital.

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Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].