Helix Labs raises $2m to unlock Cardano’s $12b liquidity

Helix Labs has raised $2 million in a pre-seed round, valuing the company at $40 million.

According to the company’s press release, the funding was led by Tribe Capital, EMURGO Ventures, Taureon Capital, LD Capital, and Double Peak Group. The funding aims to bring more liquidity from Cardano (ADA) to decentralized finance.

Helix Labs’ main focus is to develop a protocol that allows Cardano holders to stake their tokens even when using them in DeFi. Normally, when you stake a coin, you lock it up to support the network and earn rewards in return. However, this usually means that you can’t use your tokens anywhere else. Helix Labs aims to change that.

Cardano has $12 billion in liquidity

According to the announcement, Helix Labs’ technology allows ADA holders to stake their holdings and receive “liquid staked ADA” tokens in return. This token can then be used across various DeFi platforms, unlocking approximately $12 billion worth of previously untapped ADA liquidity.

The company is participating in Movement Labs’ Move Collective accelerator program, which aims to help expand Cardano’s liquidity to DeFi ecosystems. This means that ADA can now be used for lending, trading, and other financial activities that were previously unavailable.

Helix Labs offers three main products to cater to blockchain enthusiasts. The first product, Helix Vault, allows users to maximize their asset earnings by integrating staking protocols from various blockchains, including Cardano.

The UniRollup L2 platform makes DeFi activities more accessible to ADA holders by facilitating liquid staking ADA interaction with various DeFi protocols. Additionally, the OmniVM AVS product supports the launch of new projects by providing liquidity and assistance to emerging Layer-3 ecosystems.