Lava raises $17.5M and launches bitcoin-backed lending platform

Lava, a bitcoin-focused financial services startup, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $17.5 million in new funding while also launching a lending product offering yields on US dollars.

In a post on X, the company said its platform allows users to fund overcollateralized loans secured entirely by bitcoin (BTC), with lenders earning up to 7.5% on their deposits. 

The funding follows Lava’s earlier $10 million Series A round led by Founders Fund and Khosla Ventures. New backers in this extension include Peter Jurdjevic, Bijan Tehrani of Stake, Charlie Spears, Jacob Brown, Lee Linden, and Zach White. The firm said the additional capital will be used to expand its infrastructure for bitcoin-denominated financial products.

Lava’s service is available globally, offering access to dollar liquidity without selling bitcoin, alongside zero-fee bitcoin trading and yield-bearing USD accounts. The model resembles earlier crypto lending products, such as BlockFi’s interest accounts, which drew scrutiny from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and resulted in enforcement actions in 2022.

Lava’s raise comes amid a surge of late-stage and strategic crypto financing activity in September, according to Blockworks Research. Total crypto fundraising reached its highest monthly levels since early 2022, with infrastructure, finance, and blockchain Layer 1 projects leading deal volume.

This is a developing story.

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This article was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by editor Jeffrey Albus before publication.

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