Funding Roundup: a16z made a $90M bid on Optimism

Ex Revolut executive received $6.5 million from investors to create hybrid exchange x10

by Bessie Liu /
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Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

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Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has privately purchased $90 million worth of Optimism’s OP token.

According to Unchained Crypto, the investment will be subject to a two-year vesting period and is one of the largest crypto investments that the venture capital firm has made to date. 

The purchase was made prior to a16z’s most recent fundraise, during which the venture capital giant disclosed that it had secured $7.2 billion to invest in American Dynamism, Games, Apps, Infrastructure, and Growth.

Read More: A16z raises $7.2B

Ex Revolut exec secures $6.5M for new hybrid exchange

Ruslan Fakhrutdinov, former head of crypto ops at Revolut, has secured $6.5 million to create his own new hybrid exchange, x10.

X10 has the typical features of a centralized exchange, but also offers full-custody and settlement on-chain, enabling its users to perform DeFi perpetuals trading with fast latency and throughput.

“We want to give our users and traders the best of both worlds. Imagine the features and the speed of Coinbase or Binance but with full self-custody,” Fakhrutdinov said in a press release reviewed by Blockworks. 

Fakhrutdinov added, “The FTX situation, where users only got back a third of their funds, serves as a wake-up call for the industry. It urges us to reinforce trust and efficiency in crypto trading through on-chain trade settlement, validation, and self-custody.”

Other notable fundraises this week:

  • STYLE Protocol secures $2.5 million to fuel interoperability among digital worlds
  • AI infrastructure company Wisdomise concludes $9.5 million funding round to accelerate product and community development
  • Wasabi lands $3 million in a seed round led by Electric Capital

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