Rho Labs has successfully closed a seed round worth $4 million. CoinFund, a well-known cryptonative investment firm, led the round with other notable participants in the Auros, Flow Traders, and existing investors as part of the process, such as Speedinvest. The news further affirms this increasing confidence in Rho Labs’ vision regarding pioneering the first crypto-native interest rate market through its innovative platform, Rho Protocol.

The $4 million seed round marks a significant milestone for Rho Labs as it accelerates its mission to establish a comprehensive on-chain interest rate trading platform. Leadership in this round by CoinFund highlights the firm’s recognition of the critical gap in the crypto ecosystem that Rho Labs aims to fill. 

Alex Felix, CoinFund co-founder and Chief Investment Officer, observed, “We are glad to support Rho Labs as they fill a critical gap in the crypto ecosystem with a marketplace of perpetual products to normalize funding and forward rates between CeFi and DeFi.

Auros, Flow Traders, and Speedinvest also strengthen the strategy of Rho Labs in its integration of traditional financial instruments with decentralized finance (DeFi) mechanisms. The strategic partnerships will likely improve liquidity and expand the reach of the platform in the crypto financial market.

Founded in late 2022 by Alex Ryvkin, Rho Labs is leading the development of Rho Protocol, the world’s first crypto-native interest rate market. The platform gives a single platform for trading funding rates for staking, lending, and perpetual futures, unlocking new avenues in leveraged trading, basis trading, and yield strategies. Within its beta launch in June 2024, Rho Protocol has seen the processing of more than $7 billion in notional volume; this shows just how fast its adoption is growing and the desperate need for this kind of a platform in crypto. 

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Founder and Leadership

Founder and CEO, Alex Ryvkin, with over a decade of experience across capital markets and fintech experience, is currently at the steering wheel of Rho Labs. Before setting up Rho Labs, he used to be a Chief Product Officer at Copper.co, which stands as one of the leading players in the sector of institutional crypto trading infrastructure. His rich experience includes being a sales trader, derivatives structurer and CEO of a startup, thus enabling him to have exposure to both traditional finance and this new phenomenon driven by decentralised finance. 

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New Paradigm in Interest Rate Trading

Rho Protocol stands out as it converts perpetual funding into an asset class for trading which normalizes funding and forward rates between CeFi and DeFi.

This integration will enable fast efficient trading of interest rate derivatives and robust risk management tools for institutions, issuers of ETFs, and stablecoin providers.

Because it offers a single-source platform for a variety of interest rate products, Rho Protocol solves an important need within the crypto system, allowing its users to hedge against, or profit from future rate changes. 

Strategic Vision and Future Plans 

With this new-found capital, Rho Labs will expand its trading functionalities and strengthen institutional engagement. The company hopes to contribute to crypto’s maturation and financial market by offering robust, reliable rates markets for the blockchain ecosystem.

Founder Alex Ryvkin thanked the investors, saying, “With the support of some of the most respected VCs in TradFi and Web3 and some of the most respected liquidity providers in the space, we are well-positioned to execute our vision of building a robust and reliable rates market for the blockchain ecosystem, contributing to its maturity and RWA future-readiness.”

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Industry Impact and Vision 

Rho Labs reaches an auspicious moment as the crypto industry ever more resents leaning on decentralized finance to further optimize its processes and stay competitive. Solutions offered by the company address one of the fundamental needs in the ability to make interest rate trades both more intelligent and automated, opening up ways for more resilient and efficient financial operations. 

As it continues to innovate and grow, Rho Labs is well-poised to be a game-changer in shaping the future of on-chain interest rate markets.