Sebastian Sinclair

<div id="highlights-block_62a15abbfdb66" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The DEX protocol is looking to bootstrap liquidity for budding decentralized applications built on the NEAR blockchain</li>
 <li>Capital will go toward hiring efforts, product development, partnerships and growth of its ecosystem, Orderly said</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Orderly Network, a permissionless, decentralized exchange protocol built on the NEAR blockchain, has picked up $20 million in a seed funding round from some of the industry&#8217;s top venture capitalists.



Three Arrows Capital, Pantera Capital, Dragonfly Capital, Sequoia China, Jump Crypto, Alameda Research and GSR Ventures co-led the round, betting that the protocol can enhance the crypto trading experience.



Funding will go toward the protocol&#8217;s recruitment efforts as well as the development of new and existing products, Orderly said in a statement Thursday. Capital will also be allocated to drive partnerships and grow its ecosystem.



Orderly Network uses a decentralized on-chain order book to provide liquidity and lets traders execute orders directly utilizing smart contracts while providing desired flexibility with order sizes and pricing. Its platform features a risk engine, matching engine and shared asset pools for decentralized applications (dApps) to build on top of in a modular fashion.



Orderly&#8217;s composability, the protocol&#8217;s developers said, will let developers build dApps for financial instruments such as derivatives, spot and margin trading as well as lending and borrowing.



&#8220;For a chain to accommodate applications seeking mass adoption, they need ready access to liquidity,&#8221; Woo Network&#8217;s head of marketing and growth Ben Yorke told Blockworks.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">&#8220;Orderly advances this concept by being able to backstop institutional liquidity including spot, margin, and derivatives, with an order book matching engine that can accommodate high throughput and rate limits.&#8221;</blockquote>



Founded in October last year, the project is the incubation lovechild of NEAR and the WOO Network — a liquidity provider connecting traders, exchanges and institutions. The project plans to integrate with existing bridges to provide deposits and withdrawals from most layer-1 blockchains.



DEX (decentralized exchange) volumes are down sharply so far in June and have been generally on the decline since the market peak in November 2021, according to <a href="https://defiprime.com/dex-volume" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data from Dune Analytics</a>. Automated market maker-based DEX Uniswap continues to dominate, claiming more than half of all trading volume.



Order book trading interfaces built on top of automated market maker liquidity pools are a relatively new concept in the industry.



&#8220;Infrastructure being built for traders by traders — results in better products that are designed to meet the specific needs and provide the best possible trading experience,&#8221; Three Arrows Capital co-founder Kyle Davies said. &#8220;Pairing this product-first ethos with best-in-class liquidity options and a team with a proven track record, we believe that Orderly is primed for success.&#8221;



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DEX Protocol Orderly Network Nabs $20M To Further DApps on NEAR

Jacquelyn Melinek

<div id="highlights-block_621514f852b17" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Amber Group has raised a total of $328 million to date with a company valuation of $3 billion</li>
 <li>The firm has over $5 billion in assets under management</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



In yet another sign of burgeoning industry investments, crypto startup Amber Group announced Tuesday it has raised a further $200 million in an extended Series B funding round led by Singaporean state holding company Temasek.



Funding will go toward hiring efforts as the company eyes off institutional business in the EU and the Americas, as well as the expansion of its UK-based crypto subsidiary WhaleFin, Amber Group&#8217;s global head, Michael Wu, said in a statement.



&#8220;We will cast our sights beyond business expansion and strategic acquisitions too,&#8221; said Wu. &#8220;We will continue to broaden our support of sustainability initiatives, with our recent partnership with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation being only the start of this journey.”



It marks yet another instance of large money being thrown at DeFi crypto companies as the industry continues to expand. Earlier this month, Web3 blockchain startup <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/web3-startup-alchemy-raises-200m-to-fuel-blockchain-development/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alchemy</a> closed a $200 million round intended for Web3 developers. A week later blockchain-focused venture capital firm Woodstock announced the raise of $100 million for its fund.



Since inception, Amber Group’s cumulative transaction volume has surpassed $1 trillion, and the company has over $5 billion in assets under management.



The latest funding is the largest for the Singapore-headquartered startup whose valuation now stands at $3 billion. A total of $328 million in venture capital has been raised since its founding in 2018 by Morgan Stanley alumni. The company offers digital asset tech infrastructure and research in a bid to assist institutional clients in their purchase of crypto-related products as well as providing access to liquidity.



Participation in the extended round also came from existing shareholders including Sequoia China, Pantera Capital, Tiger Global Management, Tru Arrow Partners, and Coinbase Ventures, among others who were exercising their pro-rata rights.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-default is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">&#8220;With investment in Amber Group’s previous round, we are impressed by the professionalism of Michael and his team, as well as their ability to execute, their growth and focus on compliance,&#8221; said Steven Ji, Partner of Sequoia China. &#8220;We continue to invest this round and believe Amber Group has the potential to become a leading digital asset platform in the Asian market.” </blockquote>



The latest raise follows on from the startup&#8217;s recent Series B in June 2021 which saw the closure of a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/amber-group-raises-100-million-series-b-as-defi-booms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$100 million round</a> led by China Renaissance and a post-money valuation of $1 billion. The company also raised $28 million of Series A funding led by Paradigm and Pantera Capital in December 2019, <a href="https://my.pitchbook.com/profile/231107-59/company/profile#insights" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data by Pitchbook</a> shows.



When asked why Amber felt the need to extend the funding for its Series B, Wu told Blockworks the decision was driven by a strategic angle for Temasek to join on as an investor.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">&#8220;With Singapore being our new HQ, having an endorsement in the form of an investment from the state-owned fund is something we are very excited about,&#8221; said Wu. &#8220;This round was not planned but came as a result of mutual interest to bring in a very strategic investor.&#8221;</blockquote>



Global&nbsp;investment&nbsp;company Temasek is headquartered in Singapore and is government-owned. The state holding company manages a net portfolio worth an estimated <a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/temaseks-net-portfolio-value-rebounds-record-high-2022356" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">S$381 billion</a> (US$282.9 billion).



&#8220;From radically transforming the concept of ownership and value in the global economy, digital assets are redefining the way we live outside of the financial ecosystem,” Wu said. “We want to help create a digital future where digital assets empower people with the opportunity and agency to shape a better world for all.”



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