Uniswap-based DeFi protocol Panoptic raises $4.5 million

Panoptic, a Uniswap-based decentralized finance protocol for trading perpetual options, raised $4.5 million in a seed funding round.

Gumi Cryptos Capital led the round, with Uniswap Labs Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Jane Street, Avalanche Foundation's Blizzard fund and others participating, Panoptic announced Monday. The funding was secured via an equity plus token warrant arrangement, Panoptic co-founder and COO Jesper Kristensen told The Block.

Panoptic was established in July by Kristensen, a former head of research at Advanced Blockchain AG, and Guillaume Lambert, a professor of applied physics at Cornell University. The duo aims to revolutionize decentralized crypto options trading the way Uniswap has for decentralized crypto spot trading.

The first version of Panoptic will be based on Uniswap's automated market maker (AMM), said Kristensen, adding that the protocol later intends to support other popular and successful AMMs. "We can integrate with other concentrated liquidity AMMs if and when needed," he said.

With fresh capital in hand, Panoptic plans to expand its team, build its protocol and audit its code, said Kristensen. There are currently six people working for Panoptic, and the firm is looking to add two more people, said Kristensen.

Panoptic is set to launch its platform in the first quarter of next year.

The funding comes as DeFi-related projects have started to receive venture capital injections after a long lull period. Last month, Polkadot-based protocol t3rn raised $6.5 million, and Cosmos-based DeFi protocol Onomy raised $10 million in private token funding rounds.