Ethereum Liquid Restaking Protocol Puffer Secures New Investment By Binance Labs

Key Points:

• Binance’s venture arm supports the Ethereum liquid restaking protocol Puffer Finance for technology development.
• Despite its recent launch, Puffer Finance secured over $6 million in funding from the Ethereum Foundation for its Secure-Signer tool.

Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has made an undisclosed investment in Ethereum liquid restaking protocol Puffer Finance on the EigenLayer platform.

Read more: EigenLayer Review: The First Restaking Protocol To Earn Profits And Secure Ethereum

The investment from Binance Labs aims to fuel the development of Puffer’s open-source technologies, its native liquid restaking protocol (nLRP), and actively validated services (AVSs) within a verticalized infrastructure, including a Layer 2 (L2) network.

Ethereum liquid restaking protocol Puffer plans to introduce its native liquid restaking token (nLRT), pufETH, to BNB Chain users, allowing them to earn Ethereum PoS and restaking rewards.

The investment will specifically support the development of Puffer’s Layer 2 network, which operates as an EigenLayer Actively Validated Service. Puffer previously raised over $6 million in two funding rounds from reputable investors, including Jump Crypto, Animoca Brands, Lemniscap, Brevan Howard Digital, and Lightspeed Faction.

Puffer Finance’s notable innovation, the Secure-Signer remote signing tool, received a $120,000 grant from the Ethereum Foundation. This tool enables validators to reduce the risk of slashing while enhancing capital efficiency in transactions.

Ethereum liquid restaking protocol Puffer, in collaboration with Ethereum Foundation core researcher Justin Drake, has contributed security research influencing changes to the Ethereum roadmap. As part of its strategy, Puffer plans to run its upcoming Layer 2 as an EigenLayer AVS, aiming to create network effects and strengthen economic security for permissionless validators on Ethereum.

Liquid Restaking, a key feature of Puffer’s protocol, offers a solution for users looking to optimize profits through decentralized finance (DeFi). Instead of directly staking tokens, users can utilize Liquid Restaking Tokens (LRT) through a third-party project, enhancing liquidity while participating in DeFi profit optimization.