Binance Labs, the venture capital arm of Binance, has announced its investment in aPriori, a liquid staking protocol built on the Monad network.
This move is part of a growing wave of investment in Monad’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.
aPriori focuses on developing sustainable incentives for validators on the Monad network, leveraging Miner Extractable Value (MEV) mechanisms.
Monad is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible Layer 1 blockchain designed for complex, high-throughput applications.
aPriori’s CEO, Ray, stated that the company aims to introduce unique products tailored for high-throughput, parallel EVM networks.
This innovation in liquid staking and MEV is intended to enhance the efficiency and profitability of validators on the Monad network.
The investment follows aPriori’s successful $8 million seed round on July 23, led by Pantera Capital and supported by approximately two dozen other investors.
This round valued the startup at over $100 million. In addition to aPriori, another liquid staking protocol on Monad, Kintsu, secured $4 million in seed funding in July.
Monad Labs, the developer of the Monad network, also raised $225 million in April from investors including Paradigm, Electric Capital, and Coinbase Ventures, bringing the network’s valuation to $3 billion.
The influx of venture capital into Layer 1 blockchain networks is significant.
According to Galaxy Research, these networks attracted nearly $400 million in the second quarter of 2024, accounting for 12% of all Web3 venture investments. Early-stage startups received about 80% of this funding.
aPriori was incubated through Season 6 of the Binance Labs Incubation Program, which has supported around 65 projects to date.