Cosmos Hub’s Venture Funding, deployed through the AADAO, is focused on investing in high-growth, early-stage projects within the interchain ecosystem. By adopting a venture capital model, the Venture Funding arm aims to generate returns that benefit the Cosmos Hub’s influence and value in the broader blockchain landscape, as explained in our announcement blog.
One of the latest projects to receive support from Venture Funding is Plaza Finance, the first decentralized platform for programmable derivatives. With backing already from Anagram, Interop Ventures, Cosmostation, Skip, and Ambush Capital, Cosmos Hub’s Venture Funding is thrilled to join in by investing $100,000 in Plaza’s early pre-seed round. This investment underscores the venture funding arm’s commitment to further enhancing the Cosmos Hub and Atom Economic Zone (AEZ), supporting a new wave of DeFi innovation.
Plaza Finance: The Public Square for Programmable Derivatives
Plaza Finance is a community-owned platform dedicated to advancing the decentralized financial system by enabling the creation of programmable derivatives.
“Programmable derivative” is a term coined by Plaza Finance to describe a leap in cryptocurrency and blockchain architecture that enables better-tailored financial products without the need to trust a centralized authority for transaction execution or custody. This innovation allows any tokenized asset on any blockchain to be transformed into a perfectly tailored risk-reward profile without sacrificing liquidity.
Addressing Key Issues and Potential Use Cases
A major challenge in the current DeFi landscape is the limited variety of products, which can deter potential new users or force them into options that don’t align with their preferred risk-return profiles. Additionally, liquidity fragmentation further complicates the introduction of innovative products.
Plaza Finance addresses these issues by allowing the creation of custom financial products that can be easily traded and used across different platforms, while maintaining strong liquidity through the ability to redeem those custom products back for an underlying liquid token. This opens up endless possibilities for innovation in DeFi, making it easier for users to access and manage financial tools that suit their needs.
Expanding DeFi’s Potential for the Hub and AEZ
The Cosmos Hub Venture Funding’s investment in Plaza Finance is a positive move for the Cosmos Hub and the Atom Economic Zone as it supports the development of advanced financial products that enhance the ecosystem’s flexibility and overall liquidity.
Plaza Finance’s platform for programmable derivatives will empower users to create and trade customized financial products—like Ethereum-backed bonds—across multiple blockchains without facing liquidity issues. This innovation can attract more users to the Cosmos Hub, diversify DeFi offerings, and strengthen the overall utility and appeal of the Atom Economic Zone.
“We are excited to build a fair and free financial system with the support of AADAO, and look forward to introducing programmable derivatives backed by $ATOM and other Cosmos Hub aligned assets.” – Ryan Galvankar, Co-Founder of Plaza Finance.
The Next Steps
Plaza Finance is in its early stages, soon to release its testnet. As their team continues to build, we are confident that investment will significantly contribute to their development and their technology’s impact on the Hub and AEZ, as well as the DeFi space as a whole.
We encourage everyone interested in the future of decentralized finance to discover more on Plaza Finance and explore the potential of programmable derivatives.
Unlock early access to their testnet and stay tuned for more updates on this exciting journey!
About the Atom Accelerator DAO
AADAO is a governance-mandated DAO of the Cosmos Hub. We have been formed and mandated to drive value for the Cosmos Hub, supporting initiatives that either directly create economic impact or produce value that can drive its growth.
In 2023, we deployed $3.8 million in grants to 39 recipients – resulting in, among other things – a $22m USD airdrop to the Community Pool, an AEZ Accelerator program to expand the AEZ, a successful hackathon with 42 project submissions bringing innovations to the AEZ – and many other key initiatives. Read about them in our 2023 Impact Report.
