Key Facts
- The investment round was spearheaded by Binance Labs, Breyer Capital, and Big Brain Holdings.
- Binance Labs remains committed to supporting innovative teams that advance the growth of the cryptocurrency industry.
- Breyer Capital, an early investor in companies such as Facebook, Circle, and Spotify, is also a key contributor. Big Brain Holdings is a leading Web3 fund known for investments in Solana, The Graph, and Arweave.
- The round also saw participation from Crypto.com, Web3 Ventures, HyperChain Capital, Alchemy, SALT Fund, Kelly Investments, Sunflower Capital, DNA Fund, Gate Ventures, Quantstamp, TRGC, BTC INC, Artichoke Capital, Cypher Capital, SNZ Holding, C6E, IBG Capital, Protein Capital, MON Ventures, SV5, Impossible Finance, Jihan Wu (Bitdeer), George Burke (Portal), and Sonny Singh (Beluga), among others.
- Hemi is a modular blockchain network built to improve scalability, security, and interoperability, seamlessly integrating Bitcoin and Ethereum into one unified supernetwork.
- Founded by renowned early Bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik and blockchain security expert Max Sanchez, Hemi Labs aims to revolutionise blockchain infrastructure.
- The recent investment will drive the development and launch of the Hemi Network (Hemi), which is built around Bitcoin and Ethereum, with an emphasis on enhanced scalability, security, and interoperability.
- The Hemi incentivised testnet is currently live, with a targeted mainnet launch in Q4 2024.
Supporting Statements from Investors
Alex Odagiu, Investment Director at Binance Labs, said, “We are excited to back Hemi Labs as they create essential infrastructure that seamlessly connects Bitcoin and Ethereum in a modular and scalable manner. Hemi’s strategy aligns with our mission to support projects dedicated to developing practical, decentralised solutions with long-term viability.”
Ted Breyer of Breyer Capital stated, “The Hemi team has a clear and persuasive vision for realising the programmability, portability, and potential of Web3. With their distinguished track record, they are uniquely positioned for success.”
Sam Kim at Big Brain Holdings remarked, “Hemi is redefining the interaction between Bitcoin and Ethereum. It is not merely serving as a bridge between the two dominant networks in the blockchain space but creating a supernetwork that elegantly integrates the strengths of both.”
Stelian Balta, Founder of HyperChain Capital, remarked, “Watching Hemi’s advancements on its testnet and its path to mainnet has given me confidence in the team’s skills and abilities. Their product is exceptionally engineered, technically impressive, and, most importantly, functional.”
Uniting the Powerhouses of Crypto
Previous attempts to integrate and scale Bitcoin and Ethereum have tended to focus on their respective communities, leading to a fragmented ecosystem. Hemi, on the other hand, views Bitcoin and Ethereum as essential elements of a larger supernetwork, highlighting the strengths of both platforms and facilitating the development of a new class of previously impossible blockchain applications.
Hemi’s Core Features Include:
- Hemi Virtual Machine (hVM): This feature integrates a complete Bitcoin node within an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), enabling developers to use familiar tools to create smart contracts that operate with both Bitcoin and Ethereum while ensuring full backwards compatibility with existing EVM dApps and wallets.
- Bitcoin Programmability: The Hemi Bitcoin Kit (hBK) facilitates direct smart contract access to detailed Bitcoin state, enabling truly trustless Bitcoin-native applications such as staking, lending markets, and MEV marketplaces that were previously challenging to implement.
- Superfinality: Hemi’s Proof-of-Proof (PoP) consensus inherits the full security of Bitcoin in a decentralised and permissionless manner, efficiently providing Bitcoin-security-as-a-Service to other blockchain networks.
- Trustless Cross-Chain Portability: Hemi’s Tunnels offer a secure method for transferring assets between chains, significantly improving upon traditional bridging techniques.
- Asset Programmability: This includes features such as on-chain routing, time-locks, password protection, and gasless transfers, facilitating seamless asset movement without requiring native chain currency.
Jeff Garzik, an early Bitcoin developer and co-founder of Hemi Labs, expressed, “The enthusiasm surrounding our project is mirrored in the calibre and passion of our investors and ecosystem partners. They recognise the uniqueness and value of Hemi’s method for scaling and integrating the two leading blockchain networks, contributing to remarkable growth and energy in this dynamic sector.”
