EXCLUSIVE: Ethereum Layer 2 Boba Network Raises $45M To Scale DeFi — Here's What's Next

While Ethereum ETH/USD is the preferred blockchain for most developers, users, and applications, it struggles to scale with user demand. At peak times, transactions on Ethereum can cost hundreds of dollars, as users essentially bid against each other to process their transactions.

Benzinga spoke with Alan Chiu, founder of Boba Network, to learn more about Ethereum scaling. Boba Network recently raised a $45-million series A funding round to help scale Ethereum.

About Boba Network: As a Layer 2 solution, Boba Network lets users enjoy the security of Ethereum’s blockchain without needing to pay exorbitant gas — transaction — fees, Chiu told Benzinga. 

"We raised our Series A with the goal of creating a community of investors who care about Boba's success. These investors have been helpful for bringing on talent and opening up communities in regions important to us, such as Korea."

The Difference From Polygon: Unlike Polygon MATIC/USD, Boba Network isn’t an Ethereum sidechain, the Boba founder said.

While both MATIC and Boba strive to scale Ethereum, they do so with completely different technology. Polygon is a sidechain, whereas Boba is a Layer 2 on Ethereum.

Even if Boba went down, you would still be able to recover your funds on Ethereum.

From a security perspective, Layer 2s are much more secure than sidechains, Chiu said. 

Technology is only one factor in a successful network, however.

Polygon has seen huge success from its wide adoption on a protocol level; many major Ethereum applications already live on Polygon and have deep liquidity. Benzinga asked Chiu about which protocols are adopting Boba’s Layer 2 network.

A recent community proposal passed to bring Aave, the largest lending platform on Ethereum, onto Boba Network, he said. 

Boba is in talks with Bancor, an automated market maker with deep liquidity, Chiu said. 

While Chiu said he couldn't disclose all the applications Boba is in talks with, it's clear applications are interested in using the Layer 2 solution. 

The Last Word: Boba Network has grown quickly, and it plans to further its growth through its recent funding round.

Notable investors in Boba’s Series A include Crypto.com, Houbi Global, Hypersphere and Infinite Capital.