Share this article
Hedgy Raises $1.2 Million for Smart Contract-Powered Bitcoin Derivatives
Bitcoin derivatives startup Hedgy has raised $1.2m in new seed funding from a group of investors that includes VC Tim Draper.
By Stan Higgins
Updated May 9, 2023, 3:02 a.m. Published Apr 30, 2015, 9:55 p.m.
Bitcoin derivatives startup Hedgy has raised $1.2m in new seed funding from a group of 10 investors that includes Draper Fisher Jurvetson partner Tim Draper, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Sand Hill Ventures.
In conjunction with the announcement, Hedgy has also launched a new derivatives product aimed at commercial bitcoin miners.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Miners that use the derivative can effectively lock in a future price at which they can sell bitcoins, using a smart contract to settle the transaction on the bitcoin blockchain.
Drawing price metrics from TradeBlock, the new product is the result of a collaboration with distributed US bitcoin mining company MegaBigPower (MBP) and London-based Crypto Facilities, a bitcoin derivatives exchange founded by former executives from Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas.
MegaBigPower is the first US mine to utilize the derivative. Crypto Facilities buys bitcoins mined by MBP, which are then sold by way of two-of-three multisig contracts.
In interview, Hedgy CEO Matt Slater said that product helps miners address the issue of price volatility as they look to sell coins on the market.
He said his startup has been working with MBP founder Dave Carlson for months on the derivative – Carlson also serves as an advisor to Hedgy – and explained that the solution can help other industrial mining companies better manage their financial risks.
Slater told CoinDesk:
“Our core focus right now is solving this problem for miners. And Dave, being one of those most well respected and biggest miners in the space, you know, if we can solve it for Dave we can solve it for other miners as well.”
Slater added that Hedgy has fielded interest from other bitcoin miners, as well as companies in the broader digital currency space, about the use of smart contracts to alleviate concerns about price fluctuations.
When reached for comment, Tim Draper praised the Hedgy the team and predicted a significant role for blockchain-powered smart contracts to come.
"Hedgy is awesome. Great team, exciting mission. Smart contracts are going to be fundamental to contracts of any kind in the future, and bitcoin makes it all possible," he said.
The new funding includes a previously disclosed $764,000 raised by the Boost VC Tribe 4 graduate.
A hand drawing a market bar image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Foundation behind restaking protocol EigenLayer plans bigger rewards for active users
An Incentives Committee would direct programmatic token emissions, focusing allocations on participants that secure AVSs and contribute to the EigenCloud ecosystem.
What to know:
- The Eigen Foundation has unveiled a governance proposal aimed at ushering in new incentives for its EIGEN token, shifting the protocol’s reward strategy to prioritize productive network activity and fee generation.
- Under the plan, a newly formed Incentives Committee would manage token emissions, prioritizing participants who secure Actively Validated Services and expand the EigenCloud ecosystem.
- The proposal includes a fee model that channels revenue from AVS rewards and EigenCloud services back to EIGEN holders, potentially creating deflationary pressure as the ecosystem grows.
Top Stories
