Mina’s raise represents FTX Ventures’ first major backing of zero knowledge smart contract technology, reflecting the crypto industry’s increased focus on bringing zero knowledge-based apps to Web3 to ensure user privacy and end-to-end security.
The Mina Ecosystem secured $92M through strategic and private sales of MINA led by FTX Ventures and Three Arrows Capital, with the participation by FTX representing the venture fund’s first major backing of zero knowledge-based smart contract technology. The leads were also joined by Alan Howard, Amber Group, Blockchain.com, Brevan Howard, Circle Ventures, Finality Capital Partners, Pantera, and five existing backers of the ecosystem. The funds will be deployed to accelerate Mina’s adoption as the leading zero-knowledge platform within Web3 by attracting world-class developers.
Brian Lee, Partner and Investor at FTX Ventures, said, “Mina’s lightweight blockchain architecture allows the protocol to reach a new level of decentralization by enabling everyone to easily participate in the network. That, combined with its native data-privacy capabilities makes it a unique L1 with massive potential to shape the future of Web3.”
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“Mina’s lightweight blockchain architecture allows the protocol to reach a new level of decentralization by enabling everyone to easily participate in the network. That, combined with its native data-privacy capabilities makes it a unique L1 with massive potential to shape the future of Web3.”
Zhu Su, Co-Founder of Three Arrows Capital, said, “We’ve chosen to double-down on supporting the Mina Ecosystem because we believe strongly in Mina’s fundamentals as a unique Layer-1, as well as the team’s unparalleled expertise in zero-knowledge technology. zkApps enable any developer to easily build Web3 applications that respect users’ privacy, bringing actual utility to everyday users. Combined with Mina’s unique lightweight design, zkApps will become accessible on any other platform, including other chains and smartphones.”
Evan Shapiro, CEO of the Mina Foundation, the public benefit corporation serving the Mina Protocol, said, “We are pleased to have worked with the Mina ecosystem and world-class funds on this $92M raise. This validation from some of the most respected entities in crypto bolsters our aim to ensure that Mina becomes the go-to privacy and end-to-end security layer for Web3 while remaining powered by participants.”
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Mina Protocol enables a more secure and private Web3 where users own their data through the deployment of zero knowledge proof-based applications or smart contracts. Zero knowledge proofs (ZKPs) have been popularized by the recent attention drawn to zk-rollups as a scaling solution to Ethereum’s high gas fees.
Mina takes ZKP-based technology to the next level by putting it in the hands of everyday users via zkApps, Mina’s ZKP smart contracts. Mina’s zkApps’ easy programmability enables Web3 applications that preserve user data privacy to be securely verified by smartphones and browsers as well as securely bridged to other chains. This is made possible thanks to recursive ZKPs being baked into the core design of Mina, enabling encapsulation of the entire chain’s history in a single ZKP.