Movement Labs Seeks $3 Billion Valuation in Funding Round

By Niket Nishant

(Reuters) -Movement Labs is raising fresh capital in a round that could fetch $100 million and value the blockchain developer at $3 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The Series B round is being led by crypto-focused investor CoinFund, with participation from the digital asset arm of London-based investment firm Brevan Howard, the source said.

CoinFund and Brevan Howard declined comment.

Startups in the crypto space are regaining favor among investors as regulatory pressures ease and the market rebounds from its post-FTX crisis lows.

Venture firms are also growing more comfortable with signing big checks as a recovery in dealmaking and initial public offerings, spurred by interest rate cuts, provides them with greater opportunities to exit their investments.

Global venture capital dealmaking activity rose more than 5% to $368.5 billion last year, according to a report by PitchBook.

Movement Labs' latest capital raise comes a year after it raised $38 million in its previous funding round. Funds from the current round will be used to improve its product, expand its footprint in the Asia Pacific region and hire an additional team.

The talks were also reported by Fortune earlier.

Founded in 2022 by Vanderbilt University dropouts Cooper Scanlon and Rushi Manche, the company aims to make a more accessible, fast and convenient blockchain. It also released its native token last month.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Alan Barona)