Firm Behind Crypto Project Founded by Former Coinbase Executives Hits $1,000,000,000 Valuation: Report

Merkle Manufactory, a Los Angeles-based software company behind the Farcaster decentralized social networking protocol, is reportedly nearing the conclusion of a funding round with a $1 billion valuation.

Bloomberg, citing “people with knowledge of the matter,” reported the billion-dollar valuation and noted that the crypto investment firm Paradigm is leading the round.

Merkle is behind Farcaster, a decentralized social network built on Ethereum (ETH).

The network, which has an open-source protocol, allows users to build profiles, make posts called “casts,” and follow other users. Anyone can broadcast short text messages on the network and connect their Ethereum address. Verifying ownership of an ETH address enables features like showcasing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and using them as a profile picture.

Dan Romero, one of the co-founders of Farcaster, acknowledged the Merkle funding round on the social media app Warpcast, a Farcaster client. He did not confirm the valuation number, however.

Romero, a former vice president at Coinbase, also notes that Farcaster hit more than 77,000 daily active users (DAU) during the weekend, a new record for the network. He co-founded the project in 2020 with Varun Srinivasan, another former Coinbase executive.

Merkle Manufactory also raised $30 million in a previous 2022 funding round led by a16 Crypto.

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