Ukrainian crypto startup Stroom raises $3.5M

Kyiv-based crypto startup Stroom has raised $3.5 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round to solve Lightning Network’s Liquidity challenges. Berlin-based crypto investment firm Greenfield Capital led the round, Tech.eu reports.

• Stroom is a Bitcoin Liquid Staking Protocol in Lightning Network. It allows Bitcoin holders to earn Lightning routing fees while optionally harvesting additional yield in Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem.
• Stroom ensures transparency and security by implementing DAO-like structures through multi-party signature computations. This DAO can manage user funds, govern incentives, upgrade the protocol, administer a treasury, and decide how to spend collected fees.
• The company was founded by Ukrainian entrepreneurs Rostyslav Shvets and Slava Zhygulin, who both studied at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, and later worked for Bitfury and Boosty Labs.

“Our goal is to provide anyone with an easy way to earn Lightning routing fees and contribute to Bitcoin’s scalability. We can do so by alleviating the technical complexities associated with managing a Lightning node and by introducing DeFi mechanics. We think these mechanics can persuade Ethereum-savvy Bitcoin users to deploy liquidity to Lightning while retaining their yield in Ethereum,”

Slava Zhygulin, Stroom’s CTO, comments.

• The round was led by Greenfield Capital, a Berlin-based crypto investment firm, with strategic investment from Mission Street, Ankr’s venture arm. Additional participants included Lemniscap, No Limit Holdings, Cogitent Ventures, as well as several other unnamed investment firms and angel investors.
• The fresh capital will support Stroom’s team expansion and the launch of the Liquid Staking Token on the Ethereum mainnet.