Mezo Emerges from Stealth Mode with $21 Million in Venture Capital
Mezo, a Bitcoin layer-2 network, has made a splash in the crypto world by emerging from stealth mode with an impressive $21 million in venture capital. The funding round was led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Multicoin, Hack VC, ParaFi Capital, Nascent, Draper Associates, Primitive Ventures, Asymmetric Ventures, and notable individual investors such as Dan Held, Tim Draper, and the pseudonymous DCF God.
Thesis, the blockchain venture studio behind Mezo, confirmed the successful fundraising effort earlier this week. Mezo operates as a permissionless Bitcoin economic layer, utilizing a neutral smart contract framework to offer a variety of applications. This puts it in the company of other Bitcoin layer-2 networks like Babylon and Stacks, which focus on features such as staking for Bitcoin users.
One of the standout features of Mezo is its “Proof of HODL” points program, which incentivizes users to actively engage with their Bitcoin holdings within the platform. CEO and founder Matt Luongo highlighted Mezo’s goal of transforming Bitcoin holdings from idle assets to actively engaged assets within the network, rewarding users for contributing to network security.
Mezo will also introduce a Bitcoin-backed Ethereum token, tBTC, allowing users to participate in Ethereum’s decentralized finance ecosystem while holding Bitcoin. Following the successful funding round, Mezo has reported that its total value locked now stands at over $75 million with more than a thousand active addresses.
The funding of Mezo comes at a time when venture capitalists are showing renewed interest in the crypto space, with global investors putting $2.5 billion into startups during the first three months of 2024, according to PitchBook. Mezo’s emergence from stealth mode and successful fundraising round signal a promising future for the Bitcoin layer-2 network as it aims to enhance Bitcoin’s utility and infrastructure.
