Wormhole, a developer platform that allows different blockchain networks to communicate with each other, has raised $225 million at a $2.5 valuation in a funding round reminiscent of the peak of the last crypto bull run.
The funding round included a contribution from Wormhole’s former overseers, Jump Trading, with Brevan Howard, Coinbase Ventures, and Multicoin Capital among the backers.
Wormhole also unveiled Wormhole Labs as a core contributor to the platform. According to an email announcement on Wednesday, it will specialize in products and tools to help expand cross-chain activity and development.
Wormhole was recently separated from parent Jump Trading Group after it scaled back its crypto operations. Jump was said to have lost nearly $300 million in the collapse of FTX, according to author Michael Lewis’s book about the debacle, “Going Infinite.”
High-ranking Wormhole employees, including its CEO and COO, left Jump earlier this month to run the platform as a separate entity.
Only a few companies were able to raise funding at such a valuation after the prolonged crypto bear market. Most recently, crypto exchange Blockchain.com and blockchain infrastructure provider LayerZero Labs were among those who raised funds with more than a billion dollars valuation.