Blockchain developers are launching a $50 million fund to boost Wormhole adoption

According to a May 18 announcement, a $50 million fund has been launched to help startups using the Wormhole cross-chain messaging protocol. The new fund is managed by venture capital fund Borderless Capital and backed by more than 20 other blockchain development teams and venture capital firms, including Circle, Polygon Ventures, Solana Foundation, JumpCrypto and others.

It’s time to make building in crypto more accessible than ever before.

Introducing the $50 Million Cross-Chain Ecosystem Fund powered by Wormhole! pic.twitter.com/y3VeCsUrSa

— Wormhole (@wormholecrypto) May 18, 2023

The fund will help startups that “innovate cutting-edge apps, infrastructure or tools that span multiple ecosystems,” according to the application page on the Wormhole website, which also describes the fund as “anti-maxi” or promoting the idea that there is more than one blockchain is needed to solve users’ problems.

David Garcia, CEO & Managing Partner of Borderless Capital, stated that he believed the new fund would help grow the Web3 economy and enable applications to attract new users:

“Our goal is to empower builders to transcend the limitations of individual ecosystems, paving the way for blockchain applications and protocols to realize their full potential.”

Wormhole is a cross-chain messaging protocol. It allows different blockchain networks to communicate with each other and is often used to bridge assets from one network to another. For example, if a user wants to transfer Ether (ETH) from the Ethereum network to the Solana network, it can do so using Wormhole. It is connected to more than 20 different networks, the announcement said.

Other cross-chain messaging protocols include LayerZero, Celer, DeBridge, and many others.

Related: The Uniswap debate between bridging protocols exposes security vulnerabilities

Wormhole has expanded its network of partners in recent months. In January, crypto exchange Uniswap chose it as the official bridging protocol for its cross-chain governance between Ethereum and BNB Network. And on April 26, Wormhole integrated with Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol to enable easier transfers of US Dollar Coin from Ethereum to Avalanche.

However, Wormhole has also faced controversy over its security in the past. The Solana Bridge was hacked in February 2022, leading to $321 million in losses. Developers later patched the flawed code that led to the exploit and reimbursed all users.

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