Y Combinator, Pantera Back $3M Investment in New Crypto Derivatives Exchange

A new crypto derivatives exchange, Globe, is looking to step up to the plate following crackdowns on BitMEX, the growth of decentralized finance (DeFi) and a surge in the price of bitcoin.

The platform announced Friday a $3 million funding round from the likes of Pantera Capital, Y Combinator, Tim Draper and others.

“We’re seeing a wave of interest in crypto assets from major banks, fintech companies and portfolio managers,” said Pantera partner Paul Veradittakit. “Globe has built the platform and products that these sophisticated market players need and expect.”

The bells and whistles 100x leverage on DeFi perpetuals, a product built around a prominent crypto volatility index and other features.

“Globe is on a mission to unlock frictionless access to global alpha for everyone,” said CEO James West, adding:

“We’re building solid infrastructure, solving the overload problems that have wrecked the fortunes of so many traders, pushing up the standards of integrity in the space and building out new products – like VIX – that traders like ourselves want to see.”

Following the regulatory problems seen on existing exchanges, Globe hopes to deliver a safe and fair platform for fresh institutional capital to enter the space, he added.

“The Globe team has been building quietly and we think now’s the perfect time for them, with incumbents like BitMEX facing new challenges and DeFi catching the attention of sophisticated market players,” Pantera’s Franklin Bi said via email.

Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator saw success in picking Coinbase as an early bet (among a number of other crypto-sector investments). West is hoping some of that luck rubs off on him.

“I guess you could call us Coinbase for derivatives,” he said in a press statement.