Author: Yogita Khatri, The Block; Translator: Tao Zhu, Golden Finance
Abstract:
Layer3 raised $15 million in a Series A round co-led by ParaFi and Greenfield Capital.
Layer3 plans to launch its tokens and conduct airdrops in the summer, and a new round of financing is underway.
The token distribution protocol Layer3 has raised $15 million in a Series A round of financing, and the protocol will launch tokens and conduct airdrops in the coming months.
Layer3 said Wednesday that ParaFi and Greenfield Capital co-led the round, with participation from Electric Capital, Immutable, Lattice, Tioga, LeadBlock, Amber and others. Layer3 co-founder Brandon Kumar noted that the project began raising funds for the round in April and completed the financing in May. Kumar said the round was structured as an equity round with token warrants, and he declined to comment on valuation.
Layer3 also revealed its previously unannounced strategic financing round of $3.7 million raised in 2022 from Electric, ParaFi, Polygon's Sandeep Nailwal and others. The Series A brings Layer3’s total funding to $21.2 million, with the company raising an additional $2.5 million in 2021.
What is Layer3?
Layer3 is a token distribution protocol that enables projects to distribute their tokens to attract and retain users.
“The protocol library has billions of dollars in tokens,” Kumar said. “These tokens largely act as a customer acquisition cost (CAC) mechanism, and over time they will find the most efficient path to distribution. Protocols like Layer3 are poised to meet much of this demand given our direct relationship with consumers, efficiency, and targeting capabilities.”
Layer3 essentially unifies user activity across multiple blockchains and applications, enabling protocols to distribute tokens more efficiently.
Kumar said thatMore than 100 crypto projects, including Uniswap, Base, Arbitrum, and Linea, are using Layer3’s platform. The platform claims to have served more than 3 million unique users in 120 countries.
Layer3 is also developing a new AI-enabled protocol for optimizing token distribution strategies, scheduled to launch later this year. Kumar said the AI protocol will open up new ways for projects to issue and distribute tokens, and make Layer3 more personalized to the end consumer.
Layer3 Token Launch and Airdrop
Layer3’s Series A comes as it prepares to launch its native L3 token and airdrop it this summer. Last month, Layer3 launched its “governance and utility token” L3 with a total supply of 300 million. The initial airdrop will distribute 5% of the total supply, or 15 million tokens, to early adopters and CUBE minters. Kumar said CUBE (short for Unified Blockchain Event Credentials) is a “dynamic NFT” minted after completing a task.
The airdrop snapshot was taken on May 10. Layer3 has allocated 51% of the total supply to the community, while details on the remaining allocation have not yet been released.
With the new funding, Kumar said Layer3 plans to expand its current team of 13 to 20 by the end of the year through hiring in engineering, data science, and business development functions. The project also hopes to expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.