Solana interoperability layer Zeus Network raises token round at $100 million valuation

Zeus Network, a Solana SOL -8.41% interoperability layer, has raised $8 million in a funding round led by Mechanism Capital.

Other investors in the round included OKX Ventures, Animoca Ventures, Big Brain Holdings, Lemniscap and The Spartan Group, Zeus Network said Wednesday. Angel investors, including Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, Stacks STX -17.32% co-creator Muneeb Ali and Mechanism Capital founder Andrew Kang, also joined the round.

This was a seed funding round structured as a simple agreement for future tokens (SAFT), Zeus Network founder and CEO Justin Wang told The Block. The fundraising effort began last September and concluded last month, Wang said, adding that the round occurred in tranches at various valuations between $30 million and $100 million, with the most funding coming in at $70 million and $100 million.

What is Zeus Network?

Zeus Network is a Solana interoperability layer built on the Solana Virtual Machine, Wang said. It aims to connect Solana with other blockchains, including Bitcoin BTC -6.14% , Litecoin LTC -4.64% and Dogecoin DOGE -9.67% . It initially focuses on Bitcoin with its decentralized app, Apollo, which aims to bring bitcoin liquidity to Solana and enable bitcoin holders to explore decentralized applications on Solana. Apollo has attracted over 40,000 users globally in just four days since its testnet release, Zeus said.

"Zeus Network seeks to build a cross-chain infrastructure by utilizing [...] Solana," the project said. "This is achieved by developing Zeus Layer, a pluggable and programmable network of nodes on the Solana Virtual Machine."

The Zeus network is currently in testnet and expects to launch mainnet in June or July, Wang said.

Zeus Network token launch

Zeus is also set to launch and airdrop its token on Apr. 4 via Jupiter JUP -9.052% LFG Launchpad, a platform that helps Solana projects launch their tokens. "The allocation for the ZEUS token airdrop is set at 3% of the total supply for Jupiter voters, zuPoint holders and Dappie Gang holders," the project said.

The total supply of ZEUS is 1 billion, with an initial circulation of 167.5 million allocated across various segments, including early backers (10%), Jupiter LFG Launchpad (5%), ecosystem and community growth (40%), foundation (20%), team (15%), liquidity (5%) and advisors (5%). Each allocation has specific vesting periods.