SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 27, 2024 – Echelon, decentralized lending protocol, has secured seed funding to advance DeFi lending on Move-based blockchains. The round was led by Amber Group, with participation from strategic partners including Laser Digital, Saison Capital, Selini Capital, Interop Ventures, and Re7. Echelon aims to offer high-performance markets integrated with other DeFi applications and real-world assets (RWAs).

The protocol’s innovative features include increased borrowing power on correlated assets, isolated pools for long-tail asset markets, direct in-wallet integration for simplified yield strategies, and future support for investing in and borrowing against illiquid RWAs.

Developed using the Move programming language, Echelon Protocol targets institutional-grade markets on Movement, Aptos, and other Move-based blockchains. It focuses on capital efficiency, affordable borrowing rates, and innovative yield opportunities for global users. The protocol has already gained significant traction with users, transactions, and substantial amounts supplied and borrowed.

Rushi Manche, Co-Founder of Movement Labs, also praised Echelon’s approach, stating, “Their focus on capital efficiency and user-friendly design positions them to become a leader in the next generation of DeFi protocols on the Movement Network.”

With this funding, Echelon plans to expand offerings by developing treasury and RWA-backed strategies, implement vaults for cross-chain deposits, and hire full-stack and smart contract engineers while expanding its marketing team.

Echelon’s protocol aims to maximize capital efficiency and provide affordable borrowing rates in the DeFi ecosystem. By leveraging advanced risk management techniques and integrating with various assets, it seeks to unlock new possibilities for yield generation and financial accessibility.

About Echelon:

Echelon is a high efficiency money market that facilitates the borrowing and lending of assets via non-custodial pools, enabling users to earn interest and increase buying power via leverage. Positions are overcollateralized to protect lenders while offering the highest capital efficiency for borrowers. The protocol is complete with isolated pools for long tail assets and one click strategies for leverage staking and RWA backed vaults such as leveraged treasuries.

About Movement Labs: 

Movement Labs is the innovative force behind the Movement Network, an ecosystem of Next-Gen, Modular Move-Based Blockchains that enables developers to build secure, performant, and interoperable blockchain applications, bridging the gap between Move and EVM ecosystems.

About Aptos:

Aptos is a Layer 1 Proof-of-Stake blockchain that employs Move, a Rust-based programming language for writing smart contracts, initially developed in Meta’s Deim project. Aptos’s vision is a blockchain that brings mainstream adoption to web3 and empowers an ecosystem of performant applications.

Celebal Technologies, a leading IT services provider backed by Norwest Venture Partners, has announced that it has raised debt from alternative credit platform BlackSoil. The amount of the same remains undisclosed. 

This latest capital infusion will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. It will enable Celebal Technologies to serve its 200+ client base better and deepen its market penetration worldwide.

In 2022, Celebal Technologies raised $32M in its first institutional fundraising from marque investor Norwest Venture Partners – a global venture and growth equity investment firm, managing $15+ Bn in capital as on date.

Headquartered in Jaipur and co-founded in 2016 by Anupam Gupta and Anirudh Kala, Celebal Technologies specialises in Data Science, AI, and Enterprise Cloud Solutions. The Company has become a dominant force in the IT sector, assisting its extensive clientele with improving business efficiencies and providing tailored solutions primarily in data engineering, cloud innovation, supply chain analytics, and AI-driven chatbots.

Commenting on the same, Ankur Bansal, Co-Founder and Director of BlackSoil, said, “As a forward-thinking enterprise poised for significant growth, Celebal Technologies is uniquely positioned to lead in the AI sector globally. With their strategic partnership with industry giants Microsoft and & Databricks, they are set to revolutionise the market with cutting-edge solutions. Starting in a Tier II city, the journey of Celebal Technologies is a beacon of inspiration. We are thrilled to support their global expansion ambition and are confident in their potential for long-term success.”

Celebal Technologies has demonstrated exceptional growth, achieving an annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 105% from FY21 to FY24. During this period, the number of employees grew from 300+ to 2,300+. This extraordinary growth course is bolstered by strategic partnerships with industry giants such as Microsoft and Databricks, fuelling Celebal Technologies’ drive to innovate and expand its client base effectively.

Hemant Mathur, CFO Celebal Technologies said, “This debt financing from BlackSoil is tailored to our unique needs. Providing us flexibility to seize market growth opportunities while limiting short-term volatility in our cash flows without diluting equity or ownership control”.

Crossover to use proceeds to expand its role as the leading ECN in digital assets and bring 24/7 trading to additional asset classes

LONDON, June 26, 2024 — Crossover Markets, a digital asset technology firm focused on meeting the unique liquidity requirements of institutions, today announced that it has raised $12 million in its Series A funding round led by Illuminate Financial (Illuminate) and DRW Venture Capital (DRW VC). Illuminate and DRW VC join a growing list of strategic investors that includes institutions such as Flow Traders, Laser Digital, Two Sigma, Wintermute, and retail brokers such as Exness, Gate.io, GMO, Pepperstone, Trademax and Think Markets.

“This fundraise comes at a time when institutional market structure is changing in digital assets,” said Brandon Mulvihill, Co-Founder and CEO of Crossover Markets. “Prime brokerage and central clearing models are advancing, creating fungibility and exposing execution venues that hold clients captive. We are honored to welcome strategic shareholders who share our vision and passion to create the world’s leading execution-only trading venue for digital assets. Illuminate brings enormous depth of knowledge across the institutional landscape, and DRW adds significant expertise as one of the largest, multi-asset market makers in the world.”

“Illuminate Financial has been building out a portfolio of institutional grade digital assets infrastructure companies since 2019 as part of our thesis around the convergence of traditional finance and digital asset market structure,” said Mark Beeston, Founder and Managing Partner, Illuminate Financial. “Crossover adds best-in-class execution capability to that portfolio, serving both the immediate and long-term needs of financial institutions that wish to trade digital assets with a future-proof 24/7 low latency infrastructure that traditional markets are increasingly moving towards.”

“DRW VC has a proven track record of supporting early-stage companies committed to delivering market structure innovations both in the traditional and crypto markets,” said Kim Trautmann, Partner at DRW Venture Capital. “Crossover Markets was a natural fit for our portfolio, and we’re excited to support its experienced management team to deliver a best-in-class technology solution for digital asset trading that delivers superior execution while minimizing counterparty risk.”

Crossover also announced the addition of new Board Members. Mark Beeston, Founder and Managing Partner of Illuminate Financial, will join Crossover’s board of directors along with Kevin Wolf, CFO at American Financial Exchange and former CEO of Euronext FX.

Mulvihill added, “Digital assets market structure is experiencing a pivotal change driven by institutional needs and activity. Simultaneously, we are witnessing the early-stage emergence of discussions around 24/7 trading across traditional asset classes. CROSSx is designed to be among the fastest, highest-performance venues in any asset class. More specifically, we developed the platform to bring 24/7 trading, price precision and size precision characteristics to traditional markets where technology is lagging in such areas. Bolstering governance and broadening corporate strategy to address the needs of clients in this evolving landscape were atop our agenda when thinking about Board expansion. Mark and Kevin bring a wealth of experience that spans equities, fixed income, FX, and digital. We are elated to add dynamic leadership by welcoming Mark and Kevin to Crossover.”

Crossover Markets is best known for its execution-only electronic communication network (ECN), CROSSx, an institutional trading venue for digital assets. Its ultra-low-latency and quote-driven matching technology, combined with tailored liquidity and smart order routing, make it a destination for more competitive prices and overall lower trading costs.

Crossover Markets recently reported over $3.15 billion (USD) in notional trading value, 415,450 trades, and over 141 billion quotes processed on CROSSx in Q1 2024. With the added funding, Crossover Markets will continue to invest in its team and technology, further strengthening its position in the market.

About Crossover Markets

Crossover Markets is a digital asset trading technology firm focused on meeting the unique liquidity requirements of institutions in the cryptocurrency markets. CROSSx, the company’s execution-only cryptocurrency Electronic Communication Network (ECN), is powered by the industry’s fastest and most advanced matching engine and includes order logic that enables clients to choose with whom they want to trade. Led by a team with decades of FX trading, prime brokerage technology and artificial intelligence experience, Crossover is ushering the next big wave of institutions in the crypto market.