Babylon, a promising crypto startup, has recently secured $70 million in funding to drive its innovative mission of enabling native Bitcoin staking on blockchain networks such as Ethereum and Solana. The funding round was led by Paradigm, a well-known crypto venture capital firm, with additional contributions from Bullish Capital and Polychain Capital.
The primary objective of Babylon is to utilize Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, for staking purposes. By leveraging Bitcoin staking to validate nodes on networks like Ethereum and Solana, Babylon aims to revolutionize the security infrastructure of proof-of-stake systems.
David Tse, the founder of Babylon, expressed his enthusiasm about the funding, stating, “This funding will accelerate our mission to make Bitcoin the security backbone of proof-of-stake systems. Our team is dedicated to advancing the utility of Bitcoin beyond its traditional roles and enhancing the security of the entire blockchain ecosystem.”
The concept of native Bitcoin staking on networks like Ethereum and Solana challenges the conventional belief that proof-of-stake and proof-of-work networks are incompatible without complex workarounds. Babylon, led by a Stanford professor and a former Dolby engineer, is determined to debunk this notion and enable users to stake Bitcoin for validating nodes on these networks.
Unlike Bitcoin’s current proof-of-work system, which relies on energy-intensive mining processes, proof-of-stake networks like Ethereum and Solana allow users to participate by locking up their assets to support the network. Babylon’s vision is to empower Bitcoin holders to earn yields by staking their coins on these networks, potentially transforming the utility of Bitcoin and opening new avenues for Bitcoin-native applications.
With its recent funding success and a clear mission to redefine the role of Bitcoin in blockchain ecosystems, Babylon is poised to drive significant innovation in the crypto space and pave the way for a future where Bitcoin plays a central role in staking protocols across various networks.