VC funding flows back to professor-led crypto ventures

Venture capitalists are throwing money at crypto startups again, especially those run by professors. We’re seeing fresh cash go to companies like Sahara, CheckSig, and NEBRA. Yet, the real stars here are the “professor coins” like EigenLayer and Babylon.

EigenLayer, cooked up by Sreeram Kannan of the University of Washington, bagged $100 million from Andreessen Horowitz in February. Babylon, from Stanford’s David Tse, scooped up $18 million last December. Both are diving deep into this new crypto trick called “restaking.”

What’s This Restaking Buzz?

Restaking lets new crypto projects use established blockchains like Ethereum to get up and running fast. Here’s the deal: normally, blockchains need to build their own security from scratch which is slow and pricey. By restaking, they borrow Ethereum’s security, skipping the grunt work. Babylon does something similar but spices it up by using Bitcoin’s setup, which is a bit more complicated.

David and Sreeram aren’t just throwing darts in the dark. These guys have been knee-deep in blockchain research. They’ve been writing papers together since 2015, cranking out ideas that are now at the core of their startups. Their work is pulling a lot of weight in the current crypto scene, especially when it comes to making these new projects fruitful.

Controversies and Setbacks

But it’s not all smooth sailing. Emin Gun Sirer, a big brain from Cornell and now CEO at Ava Labs, mentioned that many professor-led projects crash and burn because they focus too much on clever tech without solving real market needs.

And speaking of troubles, EigenLayer recently stumbled big time. They had said “no” to launching their own crypto token but flipped a U-turn and announced a massive token release in April. This ruffled a lot of feathers, sparking worries about them possibly gaming the system for their own gain.

This move pissed off a bunch of early backers, especially when EigenLayer decided to lock up these tokens, stopping them from being traded right away. They claimed this was to better the project, but not everyone’s buying that.

And guess who’s reaping the benefits? Justin Sun, the dude behind Tron. He pocketed over 2 million EIGEN tokens from their first airdrop, making him one of the top holders. This has got everyone’s eyes on EigenLayer, wondering what’s going to happen next.

To top it off, Sun had already poured a monster amount of Ethereum into EigenLayer, making his stakes even juicier. With over $469 million worth of Ethereum under his belt, he’s not just a casual player. This kind of big-shot move has people talking and watching EigenLayer’s every step.

The whole crypto industry is now watching EigenLayer like hawks, especially with rumors that their total market value could hit a staggering $15 billion. But for now, their new tokens aren’t going anywhere, and that’s got everyone on edge. What’s next for EigenLayer? Only time will tell, but it’s clear they’re not just another drop in the crypto ocean. They’ve got plans and the backing to make some waves.