SkyBridge Partners with NAX to Offer Algorand-based Platform

Alliance to accelerate decentralized applications on the growing layer-1 protocol.

article-image

Anthony Scaramucci, founder and chairman of Skybridge Capital

share

key takeaways

  • UNLOX will initially comprise a BNPL solution, a digital asset wallet and commerce engine, and a collateralized art lending and fractionalization platform
  • SkyBridge and NAX bring institutional infrastructure and commercial volume, respectively, to new initiative while Algorand provides the layer-1 protocol support

A new partnership between SkyBridge Capital and NAX is set to offer decentralized applications and institutional investment opportunities as part of an initiative using layer-1 protocol Algorand

The alliance will start with a fund between SkyBridge, NAX, and Algorand and an initiative called UNLOX. The fund, to be capped at $250 million, will seek to provide institutions with access to unique decentralized finance opportunities.

With SkyBridge founder Anthony Scaramucci as its chairman, UNLOX will become a core infrastructure to launch large-scale decentralized finance (DeFi ventures), capital raising and a platform for institutions to securitize their assets on the blockchain.  

SkyBridge is a $7 billion alternative asset manager with more than $600 million in crypto assets. Meanwhile, NAX, based in California, creates new markets and ecosystems around corporate assets from seed to securitization.

“SkyBridge is choosing to partner with NAX because of the commercial infrastructure and volume that NAX brings to the initiative,” a SkyBridge spokesperson told Blockworks. “NAX functions as the catalyst that will enable UNLOX ventures to launch at scale by leveraging underutilized corporate assets from its market-leading industry partners.”

UNLOX will initially comprise a buy now pay later, or BNPL, solution, a digital asset wallet and commerce engine, and a collateralized art lending and fractionalization platform, the firms said in a release. NAX estimates that these will augment the user base of Algorand, which will be the protocol of UNLOX, with millions of new wallets by 2023.

Scaramucci called the protocol’s technology impressive in a statement and noted that his firm plans to bring Algorand to the forefront of regulated products, digital securities, currencies and payments.

A competitor of Ethereum and other growing layer-1 protocols such as Solana, Cardano and Avalanche, Algorand currently has more than 30,000 developers and about 800 organizations building on it. 

“Algorand is one of the only layer-1s that can meet global financial transaction requirements, with primitives built directly into the protocol,” the SkyBridge spokesperson said. “Its founder and team are the best in the world at what they do.”

Silvio Micali, Algorand’s founder, designed the protocol to be forkless with high transactions per second, fast finality and security, the representative noted. Its fees are fixed at 0.001 ALGO per transaction, meaning no gas is required like in Ethereum, the firm added, and Algorand is also carbon-negative and Sharia-compliant.

Algorand Virtual Machine was released in June in an effort to improve smart contract development and allow developers to create powerful digital apps while making blockchain application development more accessible.

NAX CEO Jeff Schumacher said in a statement that Algorand’s platform has “unlimited potential,” noting the arrival of AVM. 

“The platform will continue to deliver performance enhancements and interoperability for the growing list of organizations and governments that are leveraging Algorand as the infrastructure for new economic models,” an Algorand spokesperson told Blockworks.

Algorand’s market capitalization, which stands at about $11.8 billion, was the 15th largest among coins as of 2:30 p.m. eastern on Monday afternoon, according to CoinGecko. The price of its native token ALGO was up to $2.28 at that time, which was up 73% from seven days ago, the data shows.


Are you a UK or EU reader that can’t get enough investor-focused content on digital assets?Join us in London on November 15th and 16th for the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) London. Use code ARTICLE for £75 off your ticket. Buy it now.


Tags

Upcoming Events

HYATT REGENCY SALT LAKE CITY

TUES, OCT. 8, 2024

Guided by the expertise of Blockworks Research Analysts team, this one day event will feature senior leaders, entrepreneurs, and developers from across the crypto industry. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an immersive experience to explore the latest trends, […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Pack your bags, anon — we’re heading west! Join us in the beautiful Salt Lake City for the third installment of Permissionless. Come for the alpha, stay for the fresh air. Permissionless III promises unforgettable panels, killer networking opportunities, and mountains […]

recent research

hivemapper.jpeg

Research

We believe crypto market participants overlook Hivemapper’s fundamental potential due to a poor understanding of both the niche map data market and Hivemapper’s positioning relative to incumbents. Hivemapper’s token model catalyzes both a cost and product advantage via unmatched map freshness and near real-time accuracy, which is its wedge into a market characterized by stale data and high data collection costs. Its current and potential future product suite may represent one of the strongest possibilities for PMF in crypto today.

article-image

The Fidelity Ethereum Fund, like other proposed ETH ETFs, seeks to stake a portion of its assets, according to the firm’s Wednesday registration statement

article-image

The DAO first voted on enabling SAFE transfers over a year ago

article-image

The final Bitcoin halving, where the mining reward becomes smaller than one satoshi, is expected to occur in 2140

article-image

The Department of Justice and Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced back-to-back lawsuits against KuCoin Tuesday

article-image

Judge Failla found that Coinbase didn’t operate as an unregistered broker in offering its wallet service

article-image

A fund by Laser Digital offers investors exposure to the Polygon network, while a new 21Shares ETP focuses on staking rewards from Toncoin