Puffer Finance, a liquid restaking protocol, has successfully closed an $18 million Series A funding round as it prepares to launch its mainnet.
Leading the funding round were Brevan Howard Digital and Electric Capital, alongside contributions from other notable investors like Coinbase Ventures, Kraken Ventures, Franklin Templeton, and Fidelity.
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Operating as an actively validated service (AVS) on EigenLayer, Puffer enhances the Ethereum ecosystem by allowing users to deposit ETH tokens, which are then restaked to support network security and functionality.
In return, the users receive Puffer's proprietary token, pufETH, which represents their deposits and can be traded or used for other financial transactions. This mechanism bolsters network security, increases liquidity, and offers greater flexibility for stakers.
As of March, Puffer had already amassed over $1 billion in deposits, indicating strong interest in its restaking model. Puffer's CEO, Amir Forouzani, expressed optimism about the future of this project and the upcoming mainnet launch:
We aim to significantly reduce the barriers for home validators to participate, while delivering the most advanced liquid restaking protocol. This is a major step forward for Ethereum’s decentralization and the wider restaking ecosystem.
The funding round pushes Puffer to further advance its technology and expand its influence in the Ethereum ecosystem.
In other Ethereum-related news, investment management firm VanEck has recently predicted that Ethereum Layer-2 networks could reach a valuation exceeding $1 trillion by 2030.
