FTX, Tiger Global invest $350M in Near protocol

Near protocol, a smart-contract enabled layer 1 blockchain, has bagged US$350 million in a funding round led by Tiger Global. 

See related article: Polkadot is top crypto held by VCs and hedge funds in Q4 2021

Fast facts

• FTX Ventures, Republic Capital, Hashed, and Dragonfly Capital participated in the funding round led by Tiger Global. 

• Since launching in 2020, the sharded blockchain, which refers to splitting the main blockchain into smaller parts, claims to have processed over 110 million transactions from more than 5 million accounts. 

• The latest funding round adds to the US$150 million raised in January. 

• Barring Bitcoin and Ether, Near protocol’s native cryptocurrency NEAR was the third most commonly held token among venture capital firms and hedge funds in Q4 of 2022, according to Messari. 

See related article: 1inch Network closes $175M Series B funding round