DoubleZero’s ‘New Internet’ for Blockchains Nabs $400M Valuation from Top Crypto VCs
DoubleZero Foundation has recently captured attention in the blockchain ecosystem by successfully securing $28 million in funding, placing its valuation at a striking $400 million. This ambitious startup aims to construct a “new internet” optimized for blockchain performance by utilizing a global network of private fiber optic cables, enabling faster and more efficient data transmission compared to traditional public internet channels.
Leading this initial funding round are notable venture capital firms Dragonfly and Multicoin Capital. Currently, DoubleZero is exploring further investments from strategic partners at a valuation of $600 million, indicating robust competition among venture capitalists striving for a stake in this innovative project.
Unique for a startup early in its journey, DoubleZero’s high valuation may signal the crypto market’s appetite for groundbreaking infrastructural advancements. The company’s motto, "Increase Bandwidth, Reduce Latency" (IBRL), has already resonated within the Solana community, even preceding the release of its white paper in December. DoubleZero’s technology is perceived as integral to Solana’s future ambitions to achieve processing capabilities of one million transactions per second.
To facilitate practical testing, DoubleZero plans to open its permissioned testnet to Solana validators and remote procedure calls (RPCs), with a vision to expand its integration across additional blockchain platforms in the future. The infrastructure utilizes private lines established by reputable players in the crypto realm, including Jump Crypto, RockawayX, Distributed Global, Latitude, and Teraswitch, while welcome additional contributors to enhance its fiber optic network.
Recent demonstrations, such as Jump Crypto’s Firedancer team showcasing their high-speed Solana client, revealed that the validators were, in fact, utilizing DoubleZero’s infrastructure during the presentation at Solana’s Breakpoint conference. This undynamic introduction of observed performance underlines the utility and efficacy of DoubleZero’s offerings.
DoubleZero Foundation’s leadership includes Austin Federa, who was formerly the head of strategy at the Solana Foundation, alongside co-founders Andrew McConnell and Mateo Ward, who spearhead the project’s operations at their core contributor company, Malbec Labs. The involvement of Jump Crypto not only cements their role as a contributor but also establishes a crucial early-stage bandwidth foundation for the network.
Federa has cheekily referred to DoubleZero as “crypto’s first infrastructure project,” highlighting the significant reliance on hardware such as fiber optic cables traversing land and sea. By planning to partner with independent communications businesses wishing to optimize their underused infrastructure, rather than investing heavily to construct a proprietary network, DoubleZero is adopting a business model echoing the patterns of Wall Street’s high-frequency trading sector. Here, firms have historically invested heavily in specialized fiber optic lines to gain a competitive edge by minimizing order execution time.
In an explainer blog by Helius, DoubleZero’s data pipeline is likened to a private car service, contrasting it with the mainstream access of the public internet, illustrated as an Uber ride. Both means achieve the same destination, but with the private option offering a swifter and more reliable journey.
As DoubleZero positions itself within this transformational landscape, Federa affirms the Solana community’s aspiration to surpass the performance limits of the public internet. Emphasizing compatibility with any blockchain, he notes that current advancements in blockchain speed have reached levels that warrant the use of dedicated fiber optic lines. With this foundational infrastructure in place, DoubleZero is poised to define the future of blockchain interoperability and efficiency.
