Symbiotic Secures $29M to Build the Future of Collaborative Blockchain Security
New Universal Staking Layer Promises to Redefine Blockchain Coordination and Economic Incentives
In a bold step toward reshaping how blockchains cooperate and stay secure, Symbiotic has raised $29 million in a Series A round to launch its Universal Staking Framework — a new economic layer designed to create programmable, cross-chain security using any combination of crypto assets.
The funding round, announced on April 23, saw participation from more than 100 angel investors and major Web3 powerhouses including Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Aave, Polygon, and StarkWare.
A New Layer of Collaboration in Crypto Infrastructure
The highlight of this announcement is Symbiotic’s Universal Staking Framework, which aims to serve as a universal coordination layer for blockchains. It allows protocols to customize their own security models by staking multiple crypto assets—from both layer-1 and layer-2 blockchains—without overhauling core infrastructure.
“We’ve created a modular framework that lets protocols evolve security models over time while efficiently coordinating risk,” said Misha Putiatin, co-founder of Symbiotic.
In short, blockchain projects can now build flexible validator sets, define their own incentive systems, and update slashing conditions—all without needing to rebuild from scratch.
Why Symbiotic Could Be the Future of Blockchain Infrastructure
According to Pantera Capital’s Paul Veradittakit, this new approach is the “next step in blockchain infrastructure” because it enables previously impossible economic coordination between onchain assets.
“As the number and variety of onchain assets continue to increase, Symbiotic allows them to serve as economic security while enabling entirely new use cases across DeFi,” Veradittakit explained.
This universal coordination layer opens doors for a wide range of applications across layer-1s, oracles, bridges, and even emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and zero-knowledge proofs.
So far, 14 blockchain networks including Hyperlane, Spark, and Avail have adopted Symbiotic’s framework—with another 20+ expected to follow soon.
Charles Hoskinson Calls for Cooperative Tokenomics
The announcement also comes at a time when industry leaders are calling for more collaborative models in crypto. Speaking at Paris Blockchain Week 2025, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson warned against the adversarial nature of current crypto tokenomics.
“You can’t build a global ecosystem this way, and you can’t win this way,” Hoskinson cautioned, referencing the zero-sum dynamics between competing tokens.
Instead, he emphasized the need for “cooperative equilibrium” where tokenomics and market structures reward cross-chain collaboration—a vision Symbiotic seems keen to realize.
What This Means for Crypto’s Future
Symbiotic is betting on a future where blockchains don’t just coexist—they coordinate, using shared validators and economic incentives to secure one another.
If successful, this approach could lead to more resilient networks, new DeFi innovations, and a fundamentally more collaborative crypto economy—something sorely needed as traditional tech giants begin to move into the space.
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