Symbiotic Secures $29 Million for Universal Staking Framework

Symbiotic, a cryptocurrency staking protocol, has successfully closed a $29 million Series A funding round. This round was led by several Web3-focused investment firms, including Pantera Capital and Coinbase Ventures. The funding is aimed at supporting the launch of a new economic coordination layer designed to enhance blockchain security through staking.

The funding round attracted over 100 angel investors and saw participation from prominent industry players such as Aave, Polygon, and StarkWare. The closure of this funding round also marks the launch of Symbiotic’s Universal Staking Framework. This framework is intended to serve as an economic coordination layer that strengthens blockchain security by leveraging staking mechanisms.

The new staking layer introduced by Symbiotic allows for the use of any combination of cryptocurrencies to secure networks. This includes both monolithic and modular layer-1 and layer-2 blockchains. Misha Putiatin, co-founder of Symbiotic, highlighted the modular nature of the framework, stating that it enables protocols to evolve their security models over time without the need to rebuild infrastructure. This flexibility is crucial for protocols at various stages of their lifecycle, allowing them to seamlessly adapt their security models.

Paul Veradittakit, managing partner at Pantera Capital, described the new staking layer as the “next step in blockchain infrastructure.” He emphasized that it unlocks economic coordination between assets and networks that were previously impossible. This advancement is expected to enable entirely new use cases across decentralized finance (DeFi) as the number and variety of onchain assets continue to grow.

Blockchain networks seeking to enhance their security can adopt Symbiotic’s network of decentralized validators. This network brings “programmable security” without requiring modifications to existing infrastructure. According to Symbiotic, 14 networks, including Hyperlane, Spark, and Avail, have already adopted the new coordination layer, with an additional 20 networks expected to follow suit.

The staking layer developed by Symbiotic is designed to be highly versatile, allowing any protocol, including layer-1 blockchains, bridges, oracles, and emerging verticals like artificial intelligence or zero-knowledge systems, to configure their own validator sets, incentive mechanisms, and slashing conditions. This capability eliminates the need for these protocols to rebuild their core infrastructure, providing a more efficient and adaptable security solution.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, speaking at a recent event, emphasized the need for collaborative economics in the crypto industry. He noted that the current “circular economy” of the crypto space, where the rally of one cryptocurrency often comes at the expense of another, is limiting the industry's growth. Hoskinson argued that the tokenomics and market structure in the cryptocurrency space are intrinsically adversarial, creating a zero-sum game. He suggested that the industry needs to find tokenomics and market structures that allow for cooperative equilibrium to build a global ecosystem and compete effectively against traditional tech firms entering the blockchain space.