Japanese Banking Giant Nomura Fuels Solv Protocol's Expansion
Solv Protocol, a Singapore-based on-chain fund protocol, has successfully raised $6 million in a funding round.
The round saw participation from Laser Digital, a subsidiary of Nomura Securities, the Japanese banking behemoth, and other investors including UOB Venture Management, Mirana Ventures, Emirates Consortium, Matrix Partners, Apollo Capital, HashCIB, Geek Cartel, Bing Ventures, and Bytetrade Labs.
The fresh capital injection will enable Solv Protocol to bolster its team and further the technological development of its platform, the firm said in an announcement this week.
Bridging DeFi, CeFi, TradFi Liquidity
"Solv has pioneered a trustless institutional DeFi platform that integrates brokers, underwriters, market makers, and custodians. This creates the first fund infrastructure on the blockchain, bridging DeFi, CeFi, and TradFi liquidity,” said Olivier Deng, global chief operating officer for the Wholesale Digital Office at Nomura.
Solv Protocol provides a decentralized liquidity infrastructure that empowers organizations to raise funds through the creation, usage, and sale of financial products. The Solv process commences with an onboarding procedure for crypto-native market makers, venture capitalists, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) interested in leveraging the platform.
Once approved, users can create financial products encapsulated in semi-fungible tokens (SFT). These SFTs are then distributed via the Solv platform or an underwriter to garner liquidity from potential buyers or investors. Users collect income and pay yields to the investors either over time or when the SFT is settled.
Impressive Growth
Launched in the second quarter of 2023, Solv V3 has witnessed impressive growth, with a total value locked of $29.16 million, as per DeFiLlama data, CoinDesk reported. The startup has served over 25,000 users and facilitated more than $100 million in trading volume since its launch earlier this year.
With this new round of funding, Solv Protocol is poised to further its mission of providing a seamless and efficient platform for the creation, usage, and sale of financial products, the firm said.
Shining the Crypto Laser
Laser Digital, Nomura's Swiss-headquartered crypto, just acquired a crypto license in Dubai. The permit allows Laser Digital to launch crypto trading and asset management services in the emirate.
Launched in the throes of crypto winter last September, Nomura's entry sends a strong signal to other institutional players about the growing relevance and potential of crypto. In June this year, it acquired trading solutions firm Elysium Technology Group to provide post-trade services to institutional crypto investors.