1inch Network Aiming for $70M Venture Round at $2.25B Valuation

1inch Network, a platform that aims to find the best deals across multiple decentralized exchanges (DEXs), is looking to raise $70 million in a Series B round token sale at a $2.2 billion valuation, the firm confirmed to CoinDesk in an email Thursday. The news was first reported by The Block.

• 1inch is in the early stages of this latest venture round, which it is looking to close by the end of 2021.
• In an email, 1inch co-founder Sergej Kunz said the company would use the capital to decentralize its “network of backers even further,” noting that it had already grown “from two-and-a-half men in 2019 to more than 65 contributors and multiple teams around the globe.”
• Kunz added that 1inch was “looking for smart money and value add contributors to help us with our path forward with 1inch Pro, its institutional-grade, regulated product offering.”
• Sergey Maslennikov, 1inch’s chief communications officer, wrote separately that the company would expand its developer and marketing teams as it “aims to release two more protocols.”
• Maslennikov also said that 1inch was looking “to onboard the next 10 million users in DeFi” with its 1inch wallet app.
• Earlier this month, 1inch expanded to the Optimistic Ethereum mainnet, which it expects will help increase transaction speeds and lower gas fees for 1inch users.
• “The 1INCH token price in discussion is $1.50 and will be sold in part from our Growth & Development Fund to ensure the healthy growth and expansion of the 1inch Network,” Maslennikov said of the raise.
• “This round’s tokens will also have a lock-up period with linear vesting similar to previous rounds,” he added.

UPDATE (August 31, 05:51): Adds Kunz’s comments.