About

Acala is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that aims to build the liquidity layer of Web3 finance. It provides backend infrastructure for traditional finance, including tools like a universal asset hub, a decentralized exchange (DEX), and a multichain asset router bridge. Acala's blockchain supports continuous upgrades and is EVM-compatible, allowing developers to leverage existing code and skills. The platform is powered by the ACA utility token.

History

Acala was founded by the Acala Foundation, a collaboration by two Polkadot development groups, Laminar and Polkawallet. The Foundation aimed to create decentralized financial markets across blockchains connected by Polkadot's Relay Chain. To achieve this, the network was designed as a community-owned and operated foundational financial layer based on Polkadot's Substrate framework. Acala has focused on financial applications but is also working on interoperability initiatives and opening development capabilities to broaden its ecosystem and reach.

The Web3 Foundation awarded Acala a development grant to begin building in 2019. The Web3 Foundation awards grants to projects that develop open-source decentralized applications (dApps) that plug into and contribute to the Polkadot ecosystem. According to the Web3 Foundation, Acala's stablecoin system, liquidity staking platform, and decentralized exchange would be the foundation of DeFi activity within the Polkadot ecosystem.

Since 2019, Acala has generated some extra funding and secured a few private investment rounds. The Web3 Foundation awarded two additional grants to Acala after their initial 2019 award. Crypto investment firms Polychain Capital and Pantera Capital respectively led Acala's Seed and Series A fundraising rounds. These private rounds raised over $8 million from 20 investment groups by August 2020. The Acala Network is scheduled to launch on Polkadot in 2021.