Keep Network development team Thesis raises $7.7 million in token sale

Thesis, the blockchain development firm behind the Keep Network and TBTC app, has raised $7.7 million by selling its KEEP tokens. TBTC allows users to "trustlessly" exchange Bitcoin for Ethereum-compatible tBTC tokens and access Ethereum's decentralize finance (DeFi) sector. The app is still only available on Ethereum's Ropsten testnet, but Thesis CEO Matt Luongo said that both Keep and TBTC could go live in a matter of "weeks not months."

Paradigm Capital led the funding found, with participation from Fenbushi Capital and Collaborative Fund, among others. These investors join the likes of Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain Capital, and Draper Associates, who led Keep's first fundraise back in Dec. 2018.

Why it matters:

• There is a considerable amount of skepticism as to whether Bitcoin holders, especially the self-described maximalists, would want to use Ethereum-based finance apps. But Matt Luongo believes that "the silent majority of most bitcoin and ETH people aren't maximalists," and thus wouldn't dismiss the notion of using BTC in DeFi.
• TBTC's design contrasts that of the currently live wBTC (wrapped Bitcoin) system, which relies solely on custodian BitGo to manage the Bitcoin collateral and print wBTC tokens. Instead, the app uses Keep's network of nodes to facilitate the BTC to tBTC exchange and manage the collateral funds. Participants must stake KEEP tokens on the network as collateral to run a node.