Fintech startup InstaDapp raises $2.4 mn

Hyderabad-based fintech startup InstaDapp raised $2.4 million in a seed round from investors including blockchain-focused investment firm Pantera Capital.

The funding round was announced by Sowmay Jain, founder of InstaDapp, on online publishing platform Medium. 

Naval Ravikant, founder of startup networking portal AngelList, Balaji Srinivasan, co-founder of policy research firm Coin Center, investment firm Coinbase Ventures and technology design firm IDEO CoLab also participated in the funding round. 

Robot Ventures, backed by the founder of blockchain platform Compound, and Loi Luu, founder of blockchain management platform Kyber Network, also participated in the funding round, Jain said.

Edward Moncada, chief executive officer of blockchain management platform Blockfolio and Ming Ng, a collaborator on Kyber Network, joined the advisory board of InstaDapp.

The funds raised in the seed round would be utilised to make decentralised finance platforms more accessible and to build on fintech operations such as investing in the stock market and cryptocurrencies, Jain said.

“We are impressed by InstaDapp’s laser focus on aggregating and simplifying DeFi and their growth has been a testament to their ability to execute successfully. InstaDapp stands out from everything else we have seen in the space so far. We believe they’re the right team to push the future of DeFi forward and help the next wave of users to onboard to the open financial ecosystem,” said Paul Veradittakit, partner at Pantera Capital.

InstaDapp is a part of DeFi (decentralised finance), an open community of finance platforms which aims to facilitate accessibility, financial inclusion and transparency in transactions.

InstaDapp claims to streamline financial transactions among different technology protocols. The startup claims to facilitate transactions on distributed ledger platforms by harnessing its digital wallet solutions and bridge contracts that are tech-enabled contracts on the blockchain. 

The startup, founded in December 2018, shifted its focus from traditional fintech platforms to decentralised financial markets driven by blockchain and cryptocurrencies. 

Last year, InstaDapp won the EthIndia contest, a hackathon for blockchain platform Ethereum. 

That same year, the startup received a grant from Kyber Network. The grant has been leveraged to further develop solutions offered by InstaDapp.

The value of smart contracts on InstaDapp’s network grew by nine times since the launch of its protocol bridge network. The startup now claims to be third in terms of value locked in smart contracts, behind competitor blockchain platforms MakerDAO and Compound.

The DeFi community allows developers to collaborate and build on unorthodox financial platforms. It provides for an open community in which those with the know-how of finance and technology experts can come together to leverage the potential of cryptocurrencies and blockchain platforms. 

Recent developments on cryptocurrencies 

In September, India’s first blockchain-powered over-the-top (OTT) platform myNK, operated by MinersInc, was launched in multiple countries.

That same month, it was reported that seven Indian banks joined the blockchain platform of investment banking and financial services firm JP Morgan.

EdgeVerve Systems, a unit of IT services major Infosys, recently announced the successful completion of its global blockchain trade simulation exercise.