<p><span data-contrast="auto">Leading market makers Flow Traders and Hudson River Trading backed Sei Labs, a new crypto startup that is launching a Layer 1 blockchain developed specifically for trading, </span><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-31/ex-goldman-banker-s-crypto-startup-backed-by-key-market-makers#xj4y7vzkg"><span data-contrast="none">according to a report from Bloomberg</span></a><span data-contrast="auto">.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">Founded by Goldman Sachs and Robinhood alums Jeff Feng and Jay Jog, Sei Labs aims to build a blockchain that will speed up decentralized finance (DeFi) transactions. It uses code from the Cosmos blockchain and will be able to complete transactions in as little as 600 milliseconds, per a statement provided to Bloomberg.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">The investment by Flow Traders and Hudson River Trading comes as part of a $5 million seed round led by Multicoin Capital. Other investors include Coinbase Ventures and GSR, according to the report.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p> <h2>Competing with Solana</h2> <p><span data-contrast="auto">The founders of Sei told Bloomberg they hope the network will overtake Solana as a preferred blockchain for building DeFi applications. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">DeFi applications allow individuals to trade, borrow and lend crypto without a central intermediary. In recent months, Solana has seen in its prominence in DeFi decline, as shown by </span><a href="https://www.theblockresearch.com/july-blockchain-funding-recap-162196"><span data-contrast="none">data from The Block Research</span></a><span data-contrast="auto">. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p> <div id="attachment_166696"class="wp-caption alignleft" style="max-width: 2314px;"><img class="has-caption size-full wp-image-166696" src="https://www.tbstat.com/wp/uploads/2022/08/Screenshot-2022-08-31-at-08.42.56.png" alt="Solana DeFi venture funding" width="2304" height="968" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Solana DeFi venture funding from The Block Research</p></div> <p><span data-contrast="auto">Sei Labs’ lead investor Multicoin Capital is also </span><a href="https://www.readthegeneralist.com/briefing/multicoin-capital-1"><span data-contrast="none">a prominent investor in Solana</span></a><span data-contrast="auto">. </span><span data-contrast="auto">In </span><a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/news+/164754/why-cryptos-vc-kingmakers-are-backing-rival-startups"><span data-contrast="none">a recent interview with The Block</span></a><span data-contrast="auto">, Multicoin Capital’s managing partner Tushar Jain explained the firm’s thought process on backing competing Layer 1 blockchains.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">“To an outsider it can seem like these things are directly competitive, but really they have chosen different tradeoffs in their technical design. They’re not competing for the same thing,” Jain said, adding that Multicoin wouldn’t back two teams focused on the same tradeoff. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p> <h2>Growing the network</h2> <p><span data-contrast="auto">Sei Labs expects the protocol to launch later this year. It will feature a built-in order book that aims to enable market makers and DeFi projects to process transactions at rapid speeds. According to the report, m</span><span data-contrast="auto">ost of the startup’s engineering team hail from Robinhood’s clearing team.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">Proceeds from the recent raise will be used to fund growth of the network.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p><br /><span class="copyright"><p>© 2023 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.</p> </span>