The smart contract blockchain Neutron, operating on the Cosmos network, has recently secured a substantial $10 million in funding led by Binance Labs and supported by CoinFund, Delphi Ventures, LongHash, and Nomad. This investment is intended to drive a significant technological and narrative shift in expanding the Neutron platform, according to Neutron core contributor Avril Dutheil.
Dutheil revealed in an interview with Decrypt that the funding will boost interest in the Cosmos ecosystem as a pioneer in developing smart contract technology. Additionally, it will accelerate the development of the Atom Economic Zone, an ecosystem within the Cosmos platform that enables secure transactions and collaboration across various blockchains. Dutheil emphasized the efforts made by the team to create a thriving trade zone for decentralized finance (DeFi) and promote cooperation among communities to develop innovative products.
Often referred to as the “internet of blockchains,” Cosmos aims to provide seamless communication, data sharing, and transactions between any blockchains within its network. Neutron, as a part of this network, is designed to integrate smart contracts: self-executing code pieces performing predefined instructions. This expansion will introduce a new feature called “Replicated Security,” a shared security model that shields new developer projects launched on the Cosmos Hub. This update requires the entire validator set on a Cosmos Hub to authenticate a consumer chain before replication.
However, the fundraising success also coincides with a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the crypto industry. The United States federal regulators have recently launched lawsuits against the two largest exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, and labeled several tokens as financial securities. Dutheil described the current regulatory environment as “tricky” but reassured that Cosmos ensures Neutron tokens are not accessible to U.S. investors on exchanges. Instead, they operate within designated “safe harbors” to prevent collisions with regulators.
Dutheil affirmed their commitment to building interoperability technologies and distributed decentralized systems that minimize the need for trust within financial systems. In the continuously evolving crypto landscape, it remains to be seen how the Neutron platform and the Cosmos ecosystem will fare amidst regulatory challenges and a competitive market. Will this $10 million investment be the driving force for significant advancements in smart contract technology and the DeFi space, or will it struggle with regulatory hurdles?
Source: Decrypt
