Quick take:
- Yala is developing a Bitcoin-backed stablecoin, YU with yield-earning features.
- Users will be able to mint YU by depositing bitcoin onto any destination blockchain through MetaMint.
- The company claims to have already received over 2,000 bitcoins in deposits for its protocol.
Bitcoin-backed stablecoin issuer Yala has raised $8 million in a seed round led by Polychain Capital and Ethereal Ventures. The fundraising also attracted participation from Galaxy Vision Hill, Anagram, ABCDE, Amber Group, HashKey Capital, Satoshi Lab and UTXO Management.
The fundraising was structured as a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) with token warrants, Yala co-founder and COO Kaitai Chang told The Block, adding that the round was oversubscribed with the company initially planning to raise $5 million.
Yala is developing a Bitcoin-backed stablecoin YU with yield-earning features. It follows an emerging segment in the stablecoin industry that is attracting investors who seek to earn yield from their crypto assets without leaving blockchain rails.
According to the company, its protocol has already attracted over 2,000 bitcoins in deposits. The protocol plans to enable support for liquid staking tokens in the future. The company is also adding an insurance feature to its protocol to address challenges such as Bitcoin’s 10-minute block production time.
“The insurance module, Takaful, represents Yala’s innovative approach to DeFi on Bitcoin, creating a cooperative framework where participants, insurers and shareholders collectively manage risks and benefits,” Chang said.
Initially, users will be able to mint YU by depositing bitcoin onto any destination blockchain through MetaMint. Chang described MetaMint as “a cross-chain protocol that allows users to instantly convert native BTC into stablecoins on EVM-compatible chains, thus eliminating the need for intermediate wrapping.”
The protocol is scheduled for a testnet launch this month, with a mainnet rollout and governance token planned for the first quarter of 2025.
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