Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has made a strategic investment in Puffer, a decentralized and permissionless native liquid restaking protocol (nLRP) that combines Ethereum liquid staking with native restaking on EigenLayer.
The investment will be used to further develop Puffer's open source technologies, nLRP, and new actively validated services (AVSs) built as part of Puffer's verticalized infrastructure, including Layer 2 (L2).
According to the statement, Puffer is preparing to bring the native liquid restaking token (nLRT) to BNB Chain users, which allows them to earn Ethereum PoS and restaking rewards. This move is expected to universalize Ethereum staking and make it feasible for home validators by reducing the operational risks and costs associated with verification.
Binance Co-Founder and Binance Labs President Yi He commented on the investment:
“At Binance Labs, we always strive to support innovative DeFi projects in their early stages, and we look forward to working closely with DeFi founders on their long-term growth.”
Puffer Founder Amir Forouzani expressed his excitement for the future of the project and said:
“As Puffer continues to evolve, our unique approach, supported by collaborations with distinguished researchers, increases validator profitability, contributes to the decentralization of Ethereum, and secures EigenLayer and its infrastructure. “We are incredibly excited to lay a solid foundation for the future of decentralized trust and enable a resilient and evolving ecosystem for years to come.”
*This is not investment advice.