Grvt, a leading decentralized exchange (DEX) dedicated to on-chain financial privacy through the use of zero-knowledge (ZK) technology, has successfully completed a $19 million Series A funding round. This investment will solidify Grvt’s position as a pioneer and global model for the future of finance, accelerating its mission to transform the existing decentralized finance landscape by solving long-standing issues, including vulnerabilities in privacy, security challenges, scalability limitations, and accessibility barriers.
As traditional financial institutions explore blockchain technology, the next phase of global finance is unfolding on-chain. In August, transaction volumes on Ethereum exceeded $320 billion, marking the highest point since mid-2021. Research forecasts a substantial surge in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, projecting growth from $32.36 billion in 2025 to over $1.5 trillion by 2034.
However, the full potential remains unrealized because of critical issues arising on decentralized platforms. These include “whale hunting,” where major trades are targeted and exploited using mempool scanning techniques. Such tactics can result in substantial losses from maximum extractable value (MEV) attacks and other manipulative activities. Additional issues involve smart contract exploits, regulatory compliance hurdles on public chains, fragmented on-chain ecosystems, and difficulty of use for average users.
Grvt is uniquely positioned to address these issues. The Series A funding round was co-led by ZKsync, Grvt’s foundational technology partner; Further Ventures, an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm specializing in capital markets infrastructure and strategic investor in Grvt since last December; EigenCloud (formerly EigenLayer), a verifiable cloud platform for developers; and 500 Global (previously 500 Startups), a venture capital firm managing $2.3 billion in assets and investing in globally-focused founders of high-growth startups.
The majority of the funds will be used to advance Grvt’s multi-faceted product strategy, designed to cater to both active traders and passive investors. This unique approach sets Grvt apart, positioning it to dominate and unify the fragmented on-chain financial landscape, bringing it into the mainstream. Key initiatives include:
- Fixed Yield Generation System: An innovative method allowing users to easily move funds across their funding, trading, and vault accounts to maximize returns.
- Enhanced Infrastructure: Further strengthening Grvt’s built-in privacy infrastructure, which is currently deficient across the industry.
- Stablecoin-Enabled Platform: Building a strong stablecoin business, including cross-exchange vaults and integration of real-world assets (RWAs).
The remaining funds will be allocated to community programs and talent acquisition to support global expansion.
Hong Yea, co-founder and CEO of Grvt, stated: “On-chain finance has been hampered by privacy weaknesses that expose users to exploitation. By creating a privacy-focused, scalable, and trustless DEX offering a diverse range of structured products, Grvt demonstrates how ZK-powered solutions will become standard, fulfilling the vision of an open and secure on-chain financial system.”
Alex Gluchoski, co-founder and CEO of Matter Labs, commented: “We believe ZK is the ‘HTTPS moment’ for crypto. ZK will accomplish for Web3 what HTTPS did for the internet by incorporating a layer of trust and privacy. Grvt is in a unique position to be the most liquid and influential application layer to support this goal; their commitment and progress clearly demonstrate how ZK can bring on-chain finance to the mainstream.”
Faisal Al Hammadi, Managing Partner at Further Ventures, said: “Further Ventures is dedicated to supporting the next generation of financial infrastructure, from Abu Dhabi to the rest of the world. Grvt’s implementation of zero-knowledge proofs illustrates how cutting-edge cryptography can underpin markets at an institutional scale, and we are pleased to support their vision for a truly borderless financial system.”
Sreeram Kannan, Founder and CEO of Eigen Labs, stated: “Verifiable data drives verifiable computation, and with EigenDA now achieving 100 MB/s, the bottleneck has shifted from data to computation. Grvt is directly addressing this challenge. Their ambitious vision is matched by the quality of their team, and we are excited to support them, alongside ZKSync, in bringing on-chain finance to cloud scale with the essential security and privacy.”
Min Kim, General Partner at 500 Global, commented: “We believe the future of finance will be built on-chain, and privacy is a crucial component for unlocking its full potential. Grvt’s vision of combining ZK technology with institutional-grade infrastructure aligns with our goal of supporting global founders who are re-architecting core financial systems. We are thrilled to partner with Grvt as they set a new benchmark for secure, private, and accessible on-chain markets.”
A Collective Drive to Lead and Unify On-Chain Finance
By leveraging zero-knowledge (ZK) technology and integrating with the ZKsync Stack, explored in proofs-of-concept by leading institutions like Deutsche Bank and UBS, Grvt is uniquely positioned as a blockchain-native global model showcasing ZK’s potential in finance. This makes trading and investing secure, fast, private, and accessible. The ZKsync Stack addresses key challenges in bringing finance on-chain:
- Privacy: Grvt operates a ZKsync Validium Layer 2 (L2) blockchain, which validates L2 state without public disclosure, thus ensuring privacy, a long-standing issue for many DeFi protocols.
- Ethereum-Level Security: Using ZK proofs, L2 transactions inherit Ethereum-level security. Every batch of transactions is verified directly on Ethereum, ensuring their validity even when processed off-chain for speed and cost-effectiveness. Any invalid transaction would cause the proof to fail, leading to rejection by Ethereum.
- Scalability: The ZKsync Stack enhances scalability by operating as an L2 solution, enabling significantly higher transaction processing compared to Ethereum’s base layer.
- Accessibility: ZKsync technology reduces transaction costs by handling them off-chain in bulk and posting only the necessary proofs to Ethereum’s base layer, dramatically lowering settlement costs.
As a key investment arm of Abu Dhabi’s strategic entry into the blockchain industry, Further Ventures’ co-leadership of the Series A round reinforces its leading position as a critical factor in shaping on-chain finance globally.
As a rapidly growing developer ecosystem in crypto, EigenCloud’s EigenDA, a top data availability solution for Ethereum rollups, gives Grvt the scalability and security needed to operate at cloud speed. By anchoring data to a decentralized validator network, EigenDA ensures that Grvt’s ZK stack remains verifiable and scalable. Looking forward, Grvt will use EigenDA’s programmable privacy features to resolve the long-standing conflict between data availability and privacy, combining data availability with privacy guarantees, an achievement once considered impossible.
Looking Ahead
Building on Grvt’s innovative foundation, which has already introduced industry firsts like a -1 bps maker fee rebate for all maker orders (traditionally reserved for institutions), the next step is the launch of a fixed-yield product, ensuring a 10% interest rate return for all users. We will also introduce our flagship market-making strategy, the Grvt Liquidity Provider (GLP), offering high double-digit APRs, previously unavailable to retail traders.
Amid the industry’s rapid growth, this funding round establishes a robust, multi-layered foundation by combining advanced technology, institutional-grade infrastructure, and a secure data framework, solidifying its strong position in the increasingly crowded on-chain financial space.
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Disclaimer: Cryptocurrencies involve significant risks. This information is not an offer, solicitation, or distribution of financial services or products, nor does it represent their legality or suitability for you. Grvt is not a regulated entity, and your funds are not subject to regulatory protection. Before making any decisions based on this information, consult with financial and legal advisors, and carefully review our Risk Disclosure and Disclaimer in full.
Grvt Strategies: Grvt provides technology solutions and smart contract infrastructure for managing digital assets but does not offer financial, investment, or advisory services. Grvt does not endorse, recommend, or guarantee the performance or suitability of any investment strategies made available through the Strategies platform. All investment strategies are developed and managed independently by third-party strategy providers. Grvt assumes no responsibility or liability for the performance of these strategies or any losses incurred by users, who are solely responsible for evaluating and accepting the risks associated with any investment decisions made through the Strategies platform.
About Grvt
Grvt (pronounced “gravity”) is an on-chain financial platform built on the ZKsync Stack, providing private, trustless, scalable, and secure infrastructure. Through its decentralized exchange (“Grvt Exchange”) and investment marketplace (“Grvt Strategies”), Grvt enables individuals to trade, invest, and grow wealth transparently alongside world-class professionals.
About ZKsync
ZKsync is a pioneering ZK technology that powers next-generation developers with unlimited scale. Secured by math and designed for native interoperability, ZKsync enables the Elastic Network—an ever-expanding network of customizable chains.
As a gateway to the accelerating digital economy, ZKsync is used by leading banks, institutions, and companies to future-proof their financial infrastructure. Built on Ethereum, ZKsync delivers the privacy, scalability, and compliance needed to issue assets, facilitate payments, and launch new financial products, giving you a secure foundation for growth.
About Further Ventures
Further Ventures builds and invests in companies shaping the future of financial markets.
Through a global platform rooted in emerging economies, Further connects next-generation financial infrastructure with global capital markets. Their portfolio companies enable institutional partners to securely store and transfer assets, trade structured products, secure decentralized networks, tokenize funds, and settle complex transactions with precise trust.
From San Francisco to Hong Kong, founders choose Further as their institutional co-founder. They make concentrated capital commitments, collaborate closely with regulators, and bring deep domain expertise to build category-defining companies at the frontier of finance.
About EigenCloud
EigenCloud is a developer cloud platform enabling developers to build any application on-chain or off-chain, with cryptoeconomic trust. Powered by the EIGEN token and secured by Ethereum, it unifies data, compute, and verification into a single developer experience, making anything verifiable on-chain.
About 500 Global
500 Global is a venture capital firm with $2.3 billion in assets under management that invests early in founders building fast-growing technology companies. Since its inception, 500 Global has backed over 2,700 companies across 80+ countries, including 51+ unicorns such as Credit Karma, Canva, Grab, Bukalapak, GitLab, Solana, and Udemy. With a team of more than 190 professionals representing 25 nationalities, 500 Global is committed to uplifting people and economies around the world through entrepreneurship.
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