This article comes fromBlockworkssecondary title
Odaily Translator | Nian Yin Si Tang
Summary:
Summary:
- According to The Information, the target valuation of US$2 billion is said to be much higher than Mysten Labs’ Series A financing valuation;
-- but that valuation could change if equity investors gain more rights.
Mysten Labs, a startup focused on Web3 and blockchain infrastructure, is reportedly in talks for a Series B funding round at a valuation of $2 billion.
The Information reported on Monday that the startup is currently in talks to raise at least $200 million in a round led by FTX Ventures, the venture capital arm of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Investors are said to have committed at least $140 million so far.
Two people familiar with the matter told the media that Mysten Labs’ $2 billion target valuation is much higher than the previous round of financing. This is notable because some companies in the industry have recently been grappling with various uncertainties such as layoffs and declining financing.
But that target valuation could reportedly change, depending on whether equity investors get additional rights to buy tokens compatible with the Mysten blockchain, and the strike price at which those options are exercised, according to reports.Last December, according to a blog post by the company, Mysten Labs announced thatCompleted $36 million in Series A financing
, a16z led the round. The startup is working with existing networks to integrate Mysten technology and create open protocols based on components designed by Mysten. For example, Narwhal, a scalability-focused protocol, is in development and will be deployed on the Celo and Sommelier networks. Mysten will also launch an NFT platform.In March of this year, Mysten LabsLaunched first product - layer 1 blockchain called Sui
. Sui is a permissionless proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain network developed by Evan Cheng, Sam Blackshear, Adeniyi Abiodun, and George Danezis. According to Mysten, Sui theoretically has no limit on throughput or transactions per second, and will also support smart contract development through the Move programming language, which means developers can build decentralized applications on Sui.Then in May, SuiRelease the first test network Sui DevNet
. It is understood that DevNet allows the validator client operated by Mysten to send transactions and read requests through the CLI wallet; it is also used to browse the public web browser of DevNet transaction history; and can be a Discord channel for requesting test tokens, which can be used in Gas is paid on the test network.
According to reports, Mysten was established in 2021 and focuses on building blockchain infrastructure to support decentralized applications, including encrypted games. Its co-founders Evan Chang, Sam Blackshear, Adeniyi Abiodun, and George Danezis are former employees of Novi Research, the Meta cryptocurrency R&D team, where they helped develop the Diem stablecoin and the Move programming language.
Blockworks reported in February that these former big tech employees felt constrained by their former employers and wanted the freedom to practice their vision.
Mysten did not respond to Blockworks' request for comment by press time.
Anxiety among investors within the crypto industry has ballooned due to the plunge in cryptocurrency prices and the recent bankruptcy of Three Arrows Capital and Voyager Digital. Despite the concerns, money is still pouring into blockchain-based companies as investors look for opportunities to profit from the industry-wide downturn.
If Mysten can achieve its financing goal this time, it means that investors not only believe in the potential of this startup, but even believe that it may help turn the entire encryption industry around.
“In this current bear market, you’re going to see some of the worst-case scenarios,” ICHI project director Daniel Tal told Blockworks in an interview. “On the positive side, this is the perfect time to build.”
