Polychain Capital is joined in its Series B funding round by a16z crypto, Paradigm, SV Angel, and Variant.
“I’m so excited to announce that we’ve raised $165 million in Series B funding,” Uniswap founder Hayden Adams said in a post announcing the raise.
Last month, TechCrunch reported that the then-in-progress round could total between $100 million and $200 million, with a Singapore-based sovereign investment fund and Polychain involved. The most recent round values Uniswap at $1.6 billion.
“When I built the Uniswap Protocol in 2018, it was an experiment to see if I could create something that fully embodied the values of Ethereum: transparent, secure, and accessible,” Adams explained.
A decentralized exchange, or DEX, is a program that enables cryptocurrency trading between users without the use of a middleman. An Ethereum-based DEX called Uniswap lets users trade ERC-20 tokens.
These exchanges are a popular choice for traders looking for a more private way to trade due to their peer-to-peer nature, but they have also grown in popularity as a target for cybercriminals.
A cybercriminal was successful in stealing $8 million in July from Uniswap users using a phishing scam. On October 1st, $23 million was stolen from Transit Swap, a competing decentralized exchange.
Adams used the establishment of the Uniswap Foundation as an illustration of the ongoing support from the community for Uniswap, claiming that it is the perfect example of what a decentralized community can accomplish that a single company cannot on its own.
According to Adams, “the governance community recently voted to establish the Uniswap Foundation, which will support the Protocol’s decentralized development and provide at least $60 million in grants to neighborhood projects over the coming few years.
A $1.2 trillion trading volume has been supported by Uniswap since its launch, according to Adams.
Adams expressed his gratitude to the team, users, investors, and community for their support, adding, “I can’t wait to share more in the months to come!
