Zapper – a leading DeFi asset management protocol – has closed a $1.5M seed round lead by Framework Ventures and Libertus Capital.
Zapper Closes $1.5M Seed Round led by @hiFramework with participation from Libertus Capital, @VENTURE_DAO, @TheLAOOfficial, @coinfund_io, @coingecko, @ZeePrimeCap, @MichaelDunwort1, @kaiynne, @nanexcool, @sassal0x, @Melt_Dem, @stefanobernardi.
https://t.co/2NjZJcaBJu— Zapper.fi ⚡️ (@zapper_fi) August 27, 2020
With just over $300M in volume routed through the platform since inception, Zapper provides easy onramps to DeFi through a trusted interface that supports 19 leading protocols.
The round was led by Framework Ventures and Libertus Capital with participation from MetaCartel Ventures, Coinfund, The LAO, CoinGecko, and Zee Prime Capital. In the spirit of community-first, Zapper’s round also included angel investments from Michael Dunworth (Wyre), Kain Warwick (Synthetix), Mariano Conti (Maker), Anthony Sassano (Set Protocol), Meltem Demirors (Shiny Pony) and Stefano Bernandi.
What started as a hackathon project has quickly blossomed into one of the most crucial aggregators in a growing DeFi landscape. Over 200,000 unique users have now used Zapper as new features like Pool Pipes are being added every day. We previously sat down with Zapper’s founder, Nodar Janashia which can be found here.
Community First
The round comes as a major win for the rapidly growing sector, primarily due to Zapper’s long-standing reputation in the DeFi community. In an era when new projects are popping up with major investments pre-product, Zapper feels like one of the most legitimate contenders to close a round in recent months.
Whether it be the rapid pace of innovation or the real-time updates to keep farmers on top of the latest opportunities, it’s no surprise many have come to call Zapper the “people’s choice” when it comes to monitoring, deploying and managing DeFi positions.
At least once a day I refresh @zapper_fi and find that it added a new feature or is tracking some new asset. 🤯
— Mariano Conti | mariano.eth (@nanexcool) August 18, 2020
What’s more is that despite being in a growing sector of DeFi asset management, Zapper has kept strong ties with projects like Zerion, speaking perfectly to the social composability spirit that makes the industry so great.
More of this please 🤗
❤️ @zapper_fi
❤️ @zerion_io pic.twitter.com/0sDnOQxHEt— Mariano Conti | mariano.eth (@nanexcool) August 27, 2020
A Storm is Brewing
Just last week, Zapper shared a Tweet that teased a new site for the Zapper Protocol.
A storm is coming.
⚡️https://t.co/QT65lAOEwU⚡️ pic.twitter.com/Bff0zp5n04
— Zapper.fi ⚡️ (@zapper_fi) August 20, 2020
While there have been no official announcements on Zapper’s end, there have been whispers of a native governance token – something which seems likely given the original post suggesting that “Zapper will empower the community to play a crucial role in the creation of zaps.”
Given the pace at which new yield opportunities are popping up, Zapper has been shipping like crazy to offer Zaps that capture real-time opportunities like yVaults from yEarn.
Oh my @learn2yearn thank you for this incredible breakdown: https://t.co/7bKgQ7ZAY2
Few understand how close the two projects have been working from day 1 to help move the needle in DeFi ✊
— Nodar.DeFi⚡️.eth (@NodarJ) August 26, 2020
For hungry yield farmers out there, Zapper is certainly one worth keeping an eye on in the coming weeks.
To stay up with Zapper, follow them on Twitter or join the conversation on Discord.
Cooper is the Editor of DeFi Rate and an active contributor to leading DeFi media outlets like The Defiant, DeFi Pulse, and Bankless. He works with early-stage teams through Fire Eyes DAO to incubate governance models and grassroots community development. He is an ambassador to Set Protocol and an author of a weekly publication called Token Tuesdays. To stay up with Cooper, follow him on Twitter.