Switzerland – M^0, a decentralized infrastructure layer designed for the issuance of cryptodollar assets, has announced a successful Series A funding round, raising $35 million.
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This funding coincides with the launch of the M^0 core protocol and its on-chain governance mechanism on the Ethereum Mainnet. Bain Capital Crypto, the cryptocurrency investment arm of Bain Capital, led the round, with participation from prominent investors and strategic partners including Galaxy Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, GSR, Caladan and SCB 10X
M^0’s team includes veterans from MakerDAO and Circle, bringing a wealth of experience to their institutional-grade DeFi infrastructure. Their platform enables institutions to mint decentralized, interoperable, and fungible cryptodollars, aiming to revolutionize the existing $75 billion watch market by enhancing liquidity and capital efficiency.
Aiming to Transform the Stablecoin Landscape
“Stablecoins are rapidly becoming the largest asset class for settlement on public blockchains,” said Stefan Cohen, Partner at Bain Capital Crypto.
“We anticipate this market will expand to trillions of dollars over the next decade. M^0’s unique approach, informed by insights from MakerDAO, is creating a new decentralized stablecoin backed by short-term treasuries. We are impressed by the M^0 team’s blend of expertise in stablecoins, DeFi, and traditional finance, and we’re eager to support their growth.”
Stefan Cohen, Partner at Bain Capital Crypto
Paul Veradittakit, Managing Partner at Pantera Capital, emphasized the platform’s potential: “Decentralized Finance faces ongoing challenges in attracting institutional liquidity. The M^0 infrastructure offers a solution by allowing high-quality institutions to leverage their assets to mint a fungible stablecoin, thereby minimizing liquidity fragmentation.”
Innovative Approach to Stablecoin Issuance
At the core of M^0 is an open federation model that supports stablecoin issuance based on high-quality reserve assets such as U.S. treasuries. The platform allows multiple entities to mint a single, fungible cryptodollar called M. These entities, once permissioned by governance, can connect to M^0’s decentralized protocol to mint the stablecoin. Validators continuously verify the presence of collateral and adherence to standards through standard M^0 off-chain software.
“While the stablecoin sector has grown significantly, it still relies on outdated financial infrastructure,” said Luca Prosperi, President of the M^0 Foundation Council. “M^0 aims to set new standards in issuance, collateral storage, governance, and interoperability. Our vision is to advance this technology as the next-generation backend for fintech.”
Prosperi highlighted the broader vision: “We are transitioning from a centralized monetary infrastructure to a modern, federated framework for cryptodollar issuance. This Series A funding, supported by top industry partners, will enable us to build the middleware for a new global federation of money issuers and distributors.”
Will Nuelle, General Partner at Galaxy Ventures, echoed this sentiment: “M^0 is poised to drive a new wave of products built on their infrastructure. We’re proud to join this funding round and support their innovative approach to stablecoin issuance.”
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About M^0 Ecosystem
M^0 is a decentralized protocol and corresponding set of off-chain standards and APIs that empower a federation of cryptodollar issuers. Their infrastructure allows independent institutions to mint a fungible cryptodollar asset, transforming the financial landscape for the internet age.
