Flashbots becomes unicorn after completing $60 million raise

Ethereum infrastructure service Flashbots has raised approximately $60 million at a valuation of $1 billion. 

The company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 21 to notify the agency it had raised about $30.4 million of the total it was seeking. More SEC filings are expected to become public in the near future, which will likely show the firm raised the total amount desired across the rolling closing.

Investors and partners had been invited to invest in a reverse pitch "beauty contest for decentralization."

The company said participants in the Series B included "leading venture capital firms, Layer-2 networks," angel investors, decentralized exchanges and apps, in addition to MEV supply chain actors, according to an email sent to The Block.

Capital earmarked for Suave

The funding will be directed toward development of the Suave platform that allows users to "transact cheaper and more privately" on the blockchain.

The completion of the Series B round follows reporting from The Block earlier this year stating the startup aspired to attain unicorn status by raising up to $50 million. Top crypto VC Paradigm was the lead investor in the company's seed-stage fundraise in 2020, according to Crunchbase.

Again the leading investor in the Series B, Paradigm General Partner Charlie Noyes said in a statement that he envisions Flashbots delivering on some of the more promising aspects of blockchain technology. “The future of MEV is the future of crypto," he said. "We're proud to continue supporting Flashbots in its mission to develop Suave, and ensure crypto remains transparent, efficient, and equitable."

Flashbots’ service proposes blocks for validators running the Ethereum blockchain. MEV, or maximal extractable value, is a technique that involves manipulating transaction sequencing to capitalize on profitable on-chain trades.