Bitcoin-Based DEX Portal Secures $34 Million with Coinbase Participation

The decentralized exchange Portal, built on the Bitcoin blockchain, has concluded a seed funding round, raising $34 million, according to The Block.

The startup received backing from Coinbase Ventures, Arrington Capital, OKX Ventures, and Gate.io. The funding was structured as a combination of a simple agreement for future equity and convertible bonds.

Portal is a cross-chain protocol on the network of the first cryptocurrency, supporting atomic swaps. The project team is developing its own DEX and a “fully non-custodial” wallet.

“You can think of Portal as an inter-network Lightning Network solution. It’s fast, inexpensive, easy, and without the risk associated with custody,” said Chandra Duggirala, co-founder and CEO of the startup.

Existing tools for cross-chain swaps, such as “wrapped” tokens and bridges, are unsafe as they are vulnerable to hacking and involve certain asset custody risks, he added.

According to Duggirala, Portal “does not hold user funds at all, even through single or multi-signature.”

Currently, the protocol’s development is in the testnet stage. The project leader emphasized that the mainnet launch could be possible by March 2024.

“We want to support and integrate as many wallets and single-chain decentralized exchanges using bridges as possible. Our goal is to completely eliminate custodial risk in this area,” noted Duggirala.

When asked about the launch of a native token, the Portal co-founder replied that the decision would depend on the validators. Currently, the project operates on the “xport” token (working name) in ERC-20 format, which is used to secure the network and reward swap confirmations.

Portal also plans to launch an AI-based investment application designed to help users make “sensible” investment decisions.

Back in December 2023, the largest DEX, Uniswap, expanded operations into the Bitcoin ecosystem by integrating the Rootstock sidechain.