Paradigm leads $41 million token round for Across Protocol aiming to unify Ethereum

Interoperability-focused Across Protocol has raised $41 million in a token sale round as it looks to expand its role in connecting Ethereum with Layer 2 networks.

Paradigm led the funding round, joined by Bain Capital Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Multicoin Capital and angel investor Sina Habinian, Across said Tuesday. The funding was secured in two phases — one in the second quarter of 2024 and another in the fourth quarter — Hart Lambur, co-founder of Risk Labs, the foundation behind the Across and UMA protocols, told The Block.

Risk Labs sold ACX tokens to investors in the round, Lambur said, declining to disclose the sale price or valuation. When asked about the investors' vesting schedule, Lambur pointed to Across' recent announcement, which noted that strategic funding rounds include various one-year cliff unlocks running through November 2025.

The latest funding brings Across' total capital raised to $51 million, following a $10 million token round in November 2022 that valued the project at $200 million. The ACX token currently has a fully diluted valuation of $225 million and a market capitalization of $98 million, according to The Block's ACX price page. The token is down about 18% over the past 24 hours, currently trading at around $0.23.

What is Across Protocol?

Across is an intents-based interoperability protocol that allows users to initiate crosschain transactions — such as swapping tokens or depositing assets — through a single request. The system executes transactions behind the scenes, handling asset transfers and smart contract interactions to simplify crosschain movement.

"The reality is that users today are juggling multiple chains and dealing with Ethereum's fragmentation — this needs to change," Lambur said. "The next billion Ethereum users won't tolerate waiting to onboard into new apps or platforms - they need a fast, seamless experience moving between chains in just two seconds, not two minutes. Ethereum must feel like a unified network, no matter how many chains are involved, and that has been our mission from the start."

Lambur said Across differentiates itself from other interoperability protocols by prioritizing speed. "Powered by ERC-7683, we are an intents-based bridge, with most L2 to L2 transfers happening in 5 seconds or less," he said.

Last year, Across collaborated with Uniswap Labs to develop ERC-7683, a cross-chain standard for Ethereum that allows web3 applications to bundle multi-step cross-chain transactions into a single request executed by a shared network of relayers. The standard has since been adopted by more than 50 protocols, including Base, Arbitrum, Polygon and Optimism.

Across recently integrated with Unichain's public mainnet as a cross-chain transfer tool, facilitating transactions between Unichain and the broader Ethereum network. The protocol also powers Uniswap's in-app bridging for both its web app and wallet, enabling transfers across nine chains.

Across said it has processed $19 billion in total volume to date, including $1 billion in January alone. With its new funding, the project aims to push broader adoption of ERC-7683 and support Ethereum's rollup-centric development strategy.

"Across pioneered intent-based interoperability and used it to build the leading bridge in crypto," Dan Robinson, general partner at Paradigm, said in a statement. "We think their vision is the right way to unify the Ethereum ecosystem, and are excited to continue working closely with them on the technology and research to make that happen."

Across currently has around 40 employees and is hiring for several roles, primarily in engineering, Lambur said.

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