Trading giant Jane Street backs NEAR-based lending protocol in new funding round

Jane Street is backing an upstart project in the decentralized finance space, representing the latest sign that the global trading firm is prioritizing crypto. 

The firm has made an investment in Bastion, a decentralized lending protocol built on the NEAR blockchain. In a statement shared with The Block, the project's anonymous founder N^2 reported that the project has experienced "explosive growth," pointing to $200 million in total value locked in the protocol within the first 24 hours of its launch.

“NEAR has the highest growth potential of any Layer-1 blockchain right now. As the fastest, sharded Proof-of-Stake chain with superb infrastructure and developer experiences, NEAR has all the tools to become the next DeFi powerhouse," noted N^2.

Bastion launched its main net on March 7. 

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A wide range of investors participated in the funding round, including ParaFi Capital, Digital Currency Group, and CMS. Individual investors, including The Daily Ape's Darren Lau and 0xMaki, also took part. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

Jane Street's participation is notable given its position as a global market maker. Historically, the firm has refrained from speaking to the press and has mostly flown under the radar despite trading more than $17 trillion worth of securities in 2020, as noted by Robin Wigglesworth at The Financial Times. 

Still, Jane Street recently opened up to Bloomberg News about its crypto trading business with one executive noting that the firm has been "exploring working with emerging platforms, such as decentralized finance exchanges." Jane Street trader Turner Batty told the outlet that crypto has become "a clear growth area."

Jane Street was also among the 50 investors that participated in 1inch's Series B. Still, relative to competitors like Jump Trading and GSR, its venture activity has been muted.

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Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].