RioDeFi has revealed that a dozen VCs participated in its private sale, adding further credibility to a project that’s days away from its public sale. Around $5M of the $13.5M raised in RioDeFi’s private sale came from VCs eager to obtain a stake in the Polkadot ecosystem that Rio will sit astride.
RioDeFi is building a Substrate-based blockchain for decentralized finance applications, with a focus on stablecoins, lending, borrowing, and staking. One of the first projects to build on RioDeFi, MANTRA DAO, is addressing these use cases. With so many VCs onboard with RioDefi’s vision, an oversubscribed pre-sale and an impending public sale that has the community waiting keenly, RioDeFi is riding high. If Polkadot succeeds, it’s almost certain that RioDeFi’s suite of products, including RioChain and a mobile wallet, will be instrumental.
Venture Capital Flows Rio’s Way
Announcing the VC investment, RioDeFi CEO James Anderson said: “To bring blockchain and cryptocurrencies to the masses, we have surrounded ourselves with institutional partners who have a long term commitment to the space. We all share one common, simple vision: decentralized financial services accessible to everyone.”
These partners comprise Kenetic, Moonrock Capital, Master Ventures, Brilliance Venture, Mapleblock Capital, Amplifi Capital, Signal Ventures, Vendetta Capital, Consensus Lab, Plutus VC, Merkle Capital, and AU21. Together they form some of the best known VCs in the space, with a track record for incubating early-stage blockchain projects.
In a message to the 7,000 members of RioDeFi’s Telegram community, James Anderson explained that the final pieces are being put in place for the Initial DEX Offering (IDO) which will comprise the final public sale, to take place on Uniswap. An announcement is expected soon confirming the date. Anderson also promised a number of other major announcements for the week of September 21, as RioChain prepares to go live, ushering in a new era for decentralized finance.
Interoperability Draws Closer to Reality
Polkadot was founded with the promise of interoperability, enabling blockchains to talk the same language and facilitating the transfer of assets from one network to another. RioDeFi is committed to realizing that vision, and has constructed its native chain to support assets such as BTC and ETH that exist on other chains. To facilitate interacting with RioChain, Rio Wallet has been developed. Available for web and mobile, it enables users to interact with an array of digital assets and to start their DeFi journey.
“We are a big proponent of interoperable blockchain,” noted Ron Sade of Brilliance Ventures who participated in RioDeFi’s private round. “We believe cross-chain technology is a way to expand the potential of existing networks and an opportunity to spur the level of adoption of this technology to new heights. RioDeFi’s value proposition and product line is totally aligned with this vision.”
RioDeFi’s first intersection with DeFi will come when its IDO is held on Uniswap. Once RFUEL is in the hands of the community, it can start onboarding users to its DeFi ecosystem on Polkadot.