Initia's Fundraising Success

Initia, a blockchain project, announced a $14 million Series A funding round on Wednesday. On Thursday, it raised an additional $2.5 million in under two hours via Echo, an angel investor platform founded by crypto trader Jordan Fish, also known as Cobie.

The new round on Echo was through a token purchase agreement, differing from Initia's Series A, which utilized a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) with token warrants. Initia's Echo round was conducted at a $250 million valuation, significantly lower than the $350 million valuation for the Series A.

Confirmation of Fundraising

Initia co-founder Ezaan Mangalji, known as "Zon," and Cobie confirmed the fundraising to The Block but did not provide specifics.

About the Echo Platform

Launched in beta in April, Echo allows crypto projects focused on decentralization to raise funds from a diverse audience. Zon emphasized the importance of public ownership and community engagement in fostering a sustainable ecosystem, citing recent trends of high insider supply and low float that harm community users. Initia made conscious decisions to maintain low insider supply and only raised what was necessary for launch, providing only 15% of cumulative shares to early contributors.

Initia's Product Development

Initia is developing two key products: a Layer 1 blockchain and a platform for interwoven optimistic rollups, aiming for a ‘rollup-centric future.’

Noteworthy Fundraising Details

The $2.5 million raised on Echo in less than two hours is significant, especially considering the $5,000 maximum investment per individual. This attracted around 800 participants, with at least 500 confirmed investors. Initia's fundraising on Echo is the largest single group allocation so far.

Cobie shared that Echo has raised approximately $20 million for various startups, emphasizing the need for fairer fundraising structures and reducing centralization early on. He also acknowledged ongoing issues with the platform, urging patience from users as they strive to build and improve Echo.

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