As the world of cryptocurrency continues to progress with various layer-1 and layer-2 blockchains, the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Drift is making notable strides on the Solana (SOL) blockchain.
Recently, Drift revealed the successful completion of a $25 million Series B funding round led by the crypto venture firm Multicoin Capital. This funding will further Drift’s goal of becoming the “Robinhood of crypto,” as stated by co-founder Cindy Leow.
How Solana Fuels Drift’s Operations
In a recent interview with Fortune, Leow shared her vision to position Drift as a complete on-chain financial institution. The platform aims to enhance its range of financial services, which currently includes spot and derivatives trading along with a prediction market, all built on the Solana blockchain.
Established in 2021, Drift functions as a derivatives exchange, differentiating itself from centralized exchanges (CEXs) like Coinbase and Binance by adopting a permissionless model on the Solana blockchain.
This structure ensures that users maintain total control over their funds, without any centralized authority overseeing their assets. While Solana supports decentralized exchanges (DEXs), Drift sets itself apart with its wide array of product offerings, including lending and borrowing protocols.
Drift Labs, the organization behind Drift, develops the software and protocol that is governed by an associated token (DRIFT) and a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).
One of Drift’s standout products is the perpetual future— a type of derivative contract that enables traders to speculate on an asset’s future price without an expiration date.
Although these products primarily attract more advanced traders, Drift limits access to perpetual futures in the US, where only spot trading is permitted.
A critical feature of Drift is its cross-margining ability, allowing users to utilize various assets—such as dollar-pegged stablecoins, Solana, and wrapped Bitcoin—as collateral for trading.
Drift Plans to Expand Workforce After Funding Round
According to Fortune, Drift’s expansion has garnered substantial investment, with over 200,000 users and more than $50 billion in total trading volume.
The successful Series B funding brings Drift’s total funding to $52.5 million, with plans to double its workforce from 25 to 50 in the coming year.
Under Leow’s guidance, Drift also stands out as a female-led crypto venture. She highlighted that Drift ranks among the highest in terms of gender diversity in the crypto space, with approximately half of its leadership team being women.
At the time of this writing, Solana is priced at $143, reflecting an increase of nearly 12% in the last 24 hours alone, surpassing the top ten largest cryptocurrencies on the market, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.
This price surge follows the Federal Reserve’s announcement on Wednesday regarding a 0.50 basis point interest rate cut, which has thus far bolstered bullish sentiment in the marketplace.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
