Blockchain Messaging Platform Wormhole Raises $225M at $2.5B Valuation

Wormhole, a developer platform that allows different blockchain networks to communicate with each other, has raised $225 million at a $2.5 valuation in a funding round reminiscent of the peak of the last crypto bull run.

The funding round included a contribution from Wormhole's former overseers, Jump Trading, with Brevan Howard, Coinbase Ventures and Multicoin Capital among the backers.

Wormhole also unveiled Wormhole Labs as a core contributor to the platform. It will specialize in products and tools to help expand cross-chain activity and development, according to an emailed announcement on Wednesday.

Wormhole was recently separated from parent Jump Trading Group after it scaled back its crypto operations. Jump was said to have lost nearly $300 million in the collapse of FTX, according to author Michael Lewis's book about the debacle, "Going Infinite."

High-ranking Wormhole employees, including its CEO and COO, left Jump earlier this month to run the platform as a separate entity.

There have been only a few companies that were able to raise funding at such a valuation after the prolonged crypto bear market. Most recently, crypto exchange Blockchain.com and blockchain infrastructure provider LayerZero Labs were among those who raised funds with more than a billion dollars valuation.

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