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[9:36 PM · Oct 23, 2024] – Variational, a peer-to-peer (P2P) trading protocol designed for perpetual and generalized derivatives, today announced the successful close of a $10.3 million seed funding round. The investment, co-led by Bain Capital Crypto and Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India & Southeast Asia), with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Dragonfly Capital, North Island Ventures, Hack VC, and others, will propel the development and launch of Variational's flagship application, Omni.
Variational is building a generalized P2P trading and settlement platform, distinct from a traditional decentralized exchange (DEX). Its initial focus is Omni, a retail-focused application enabling leveraged perpetual contract trading on a vast array of assets, including memecoins, pre-launch tokens, prediction markets, and more. Omni aggregates liquidity from centralized exchanges (CEXs), DEXs, DeFi protocols, and over-the-counter (OTC) sources, ensuring deep liquidity and fair trading conditions for retail users.
"We are thrilled to partner with such a prestigious group of investors who share our vision for the future of derivatives trading," said Lucas Schuermann, Co-founder and CEO of Variational. "This funding will enable us to bring Omni to mainnet and empower retail traders with access to a broader range of assets and a more equitable trading experience."
The seed round was structured as a priced equity round with standard 1:1 token warrants, although the specific valuation remains undisclosed. The funding will primarily support the mainnet launch of Omni on Arbitrum One, scheduled for Q1 2025, followed by a token launch. Currently, Omni is undergoing testing on the Arbitrum Sepolia testnet, with plans to expand to other Layer-1 and Layer-2 blockchains in the future.
Key Investors and Partners:
- Bain Capital Crypto: A leading investor in blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure.
- Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India & Southeast Asia): A prominent venture capital firm focused on technology investments in India and Southeast Asia.
- Coinbase Ventures: The venture capital arm of Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange.
- Dragonfly Capital: A global crypto-focused investment firm.
- North Island Ventures: A venture capital firm specializing in blockchain and cryptocurrency investments.
- Hack VC: A venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in the crypto space.
Key Features of Omni:
- Trade Anything: Trade perpetual contracts on a wide variety of assets, including memecoins, pre-launch tokens, and prediction markets.
- Deep Liquidity: Access aggregated liquidity from multiple sources, ensuring competitive pricing and efficient execution.
- Community-First Approach: Benefit from loss rakebacks and a non-adversarial market maker that redistributes gains to the community.
Variational's Leadership:
Variational was co-founded by Lucas Schuermann and Edward Yu. Schuermann previously served as Vice President of Engineering at Genesis Global Trading, while Yu was Head of Quantitative Research at the same firm. Both departed Genesis in 2021.
Future Plans:
Beyond Omni, Variational is developing Pro, a platform tailored for institutional traders. The company also plans to support applications focused on yield generation and lending. Variational, currently based in the Cayman Islands with a team of seven, intends to expand to 10-15 employees by mid-2025, focusing on marketing, growth, backend engineering, developer operations, and quantitative roles.
About Variational:
Variational is building the next generation of derivatives trading with its innovative peer-to-peer protocol. By aggregating liquidity and offering a wide range of trading instruments, Variational aims to empower both retail and institutional traders with a more efficient and accessible derivatives market.
Compiled by CMO Intern team
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