what is wormhole?
WormHole initiative airdrops are special occasions during which complimentary tokens are distributed to current token holders. These events serve as a means for cryptocurrency projects to recognize and reward their committed community members.
The developers of Wormhole, a messaging protocol that facilitates cross-blockchain developer communication, have raised an impressive $225 million at a $2.5 billion valuation, despite a difficult fundraising environment. On Crunchbase’s Web3 tracker, this is the largest funding round for a cryptocurrency project in 2023. Although it was the first official raise, Jump Crypto, a company connected to high-frequency trading company Jump Trading, incubated the project for a number of years, according to Wormhole Labs CEO Saeed Badreg.
There was no clear lead investor in the funding round, according to Wormhole Foundation CEO Dan Reecer, who observed that “everyone was essentially equal.” Prominent participants include Arrington Capital, ParaFi, Dialectic, Brevan Howard, Coinbase Ventures, Multicoin Capital, Borderless Capital, and, of course, Jump Trading.
According to Dan Reecer, investors will only own token warrants and will not own any equity in the business. With this cryptocurrency-focused fundraising strategy, investors receive a portion of the entire supply of the upcoming cryptocurrency. Reecer made no comments regarding Wormhole’s token launch date or other details that have remained undisclosed.
Wormhole’s team also announced the establishment of Wormhole Labs, a new protocol development company, in conjunction with the $225 million funding. Saeed Badreg did not disclose how the $225 million will be split between Wormhole Labs and Wormhole Foundation, a group founded in 2021 to encourage developers to use the protocol.
The final disassociation of Wormhole from Jump Crypto has occurred with the introduction of Wormhole Labs and the infusion of capital, as first reported by Bloomberg. “Wormhole itself is now completely separated from Jump,” confirmed Dan Reecer.
This split is indicative of Jump Crypto’s continuous downsizing, which is taking place in the face of heightened regulatory scrutiny of Jump Trading’s cryptocurrency division and a difficult year for the company as well as the industry as a whole.
A ‘stale’ narrative and new beginning:-
Created by Jump Crypto developers, Wormhole made an exciting nearly three-year journey before its August 2021 launch. But the protocol was breached by hackers less than a year later in February 2022, resulting in the theft of about $320 million—a notable event in the world of cryptocurrency hacks. Jump Crypto, a well-known player in the cryptocurrency venture capital and market-making space, quickly stepped in to replace the lost money.
In the midst of the 2022 crypto market crash and growing regulatory scrutiny, Jump Crypto came under closer scrutiny. The company that created the stablecoin TerraUSD, which saw a sharp decline in value in May 2022, is Terraform Labs, the target of a lawsuit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in February 2023.
During the legal process, the SEC brought up a “third party” that had previously backed the stablecoin in May 2021, which ultimately caused it to collapse. Afterwards, Jump Crypto was identified as this third party.
Following this, it has been reported that the company has reduced its engagement in cryptocurrency trading within the United States and dissolved its partnership with Robinhood, an online stock brokerage that facilitates cryptocurrency transactions.
Wormhole Labs CEO Saeed Badreg wants to change the story around Wormhole after the company raised a significant amount of money. He calls the current narrative “stale.” He was upbeat that the significant rise would force a reassessment, stating, “I think that this rise is an eye-popping number for people, so it forces people to reassess.”
The group founded Wormhole Labs in May, and by August, fifteen members—mostly from Jump Crypto—had left to focus solely on the protocol. Concurrently, a different group of Jump workers disclosed their departure to focus on a financial data provider that uses blockchain technology.
CEO Saeed Badreg claims that neither regulatory scrutiny nor Jump Crypto’s withdrawal from the US is the reason for these departures. With this statement, he highlights his opinion that businesses or projects shouldn’t be permanently linked to Jump: “I just never believed in a world in which all of these projects or companies would live within Jump or be associated with Jump indefinitely.”
The Wormhole team intends to use the capital infusion to advance the development of the protocol, hire more staff members, and encourage developer engagement with the messaging technology. This includes adding ten more employees from the Wormhole Foundation. Wormhole Foundation Chief Commercial Officer Robinson Burkey was upbeat, calling the situation “very positive” and like a new beginning for Wormhole.
