Portal raises $34M for atomic swaps while DEX is still in testnet

Portal and one of its investors stressed that its atomic swap technology will take time to launch

article-image

SNeG17/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Portal, a Bitcoin-focused DeFi project, recently announced its successful $34 million seed funding round. At time of writing, this represents the second-largest funding round in the Web3 space for the year 2024. This follows an earlier fundraising effort in September 2021, where Portal secured $8.5 million.

Then, as now, Portal’s raise announcement focuses heavily on the platform’s creation of a decentralized exchange (DEX) to allow atomic swaps that don’t rely on trusted intermediaries to move assets between chains. 

But after more than two years and $42.5 million in funding, Portal’s DEX is still in testnet. 

Read more: Bitcoin doesn’t need to change, but…

Following the announcement of this most recent fundraise, Portal community members expressed frustration at the project’s slow development on Portal’s Telegram channel. Some invested in Portal through retail investment platform Republic and wanted to know when they could see returns. An administrator in Telegram said investors would receive equity following launch.

In an interview, Portal co-founder and CEO Chandra Duggirala acknowledged “things did take longer than we expected, which is true of all difficult engineering problems.”

Duggirala said Portal is currently undergoing audits, testing its platform and setting up its validator network. Portal expects its platform to be mainnet ready by Q2, Duggirala said.

The Portal DEX and Portal wallet are both listed as coming soon on Portal’s website. The startup has published some documentation regarding how the Portal DEX will execute swaps alongside some code repositories on GitHub.

Atomic swaps allow users to directly exchange assets between different blockchains, using cryptographic hash functions for secure transactions. This technology reduces the need for intermediaries, like wrapped assets or third-party bridges, making trading more straightforward and potentially safer.

Duggirala emphasized the importance of atomic swaps, especially considering the security breaches that have affected custodial platforms, where users’ funds are held by a third party. 

Read more: DeFi hackers ring in New Year with 3 attacks in 5 days

Portal reported participation in its seed round from notable backers, including Coinbase Ventures, OKX Ventures, Gate.io and Arrington Capital.

When asked about how Portal secured an additional $34 million in funding despite its DEX still being in the works, Duggirala said investors are taking the long view.

“This is a long-term project and all of the investors understood then…that these things take time,” Duggirala said.

In an email, Arrington confirmed its investment. 

“Our take is that Portal is tackling a very large problem, and building a bridgeless and custodian-less cross chain solution is not easy.  We are really excited by what the team has built over the past couple years and what is soon to come,” a spokesperson wrote. 

A spokesperson for Portal did not immediately return a request for further comment on when Portal opened and closed its seed round.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

🚀 Build What’s Next — Permissionless IV Hackathon Join us June 22–23 in Brooklyn for the Permissionless IV Hackathon — a 36-hour sprint hosted by Cracked Labs and Blockworks where top builders turn ideas into real products. Come to launch, not just […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (10).png

Research

Kamino has evolved into a full-stack asset scaling suite with V2: unlocking new markets, improving capital efficiency, and catering to various risk profiles. We believe it is best positioned to become the credit backbone of Solana as the ecosystem matures. Simply put, KMNO remains our highest-conviction bet in the Solana ecosystem. This report lays out our thesis.

article-image

Bybit’s Byreal, Binance Alpha and Coinbase’s DEX integrations

article-image

This isn’t the worst hack to ever hit Mt. Gox, but it could be the most entertaining

article-image

Crossover’s CEO discusses institutional interest and how over-the-counter (OTC) trading has picked up in crypto

article-image

Sponsored

This collaboration signifies a major leap forward in expanding the reach and utility of Web3 gaming within the vibrant Asian market

article-image

Asymmetric information is threatening crypto the same way it once threatened equities. Disclosure might be the fix.

article-image

Rate cuts drift into Q4 limbo as markets pretend everything’s fine