News linked to both this project and an event.
According to Fortune, cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Liquid has announced the completion of an $18 million Series A funding round, co-led by Neo and Left Lane Capital, with participation from Haun Ventures, K5 Global, SV Angel, AntiFund, and Sunflower Capital. This comes less than six months after its $7.6 million seed round, which was led by Paradigm.
JackYi, founder of Liquid Capital, posted on X: “The recent wave of failures among crypto VCs and projects had one core cause: funding was largely spent on maintaining teams that built useless Web3 products. The biggest misconception was trying to replicate Web2 products. In essence, Web3 is a financial industry—it doesn’t require re-creating Web2 products. Historically, the most successful crypto companies have all been financial products: stablecoins, exchanges, payment solutions, etc. Now, with the AI era arriving, two things are clear: first, massive fundraising and large teams are no longer necessary; second, AI + finance presents a new opportunity. We believe exceptional founders, backed by just a few elite team members, can build world-class companies—this represents the single largest opportunity in today’s primary market.”
Yi Lihua, founder of Liquid Capital (formerly LD Capital), stated that the current cryptocurrency market rally is still ongoing. However, compared to the U.S. stock market’s S&P 500 hitting new highs and MicroStrategy’s continued aggressive Bitcoin purchases, this Bitcoin rally is relatively weak overall and exhibits clear characteristics of a bear-market rebound. He noted that his team has recently focused on analyzing MicroStrategy’s risks, concluding that its strategy of aggressively raising funds to continuously buy Bitcoin may be effective in the short term but poses medium-term risks—especially amid broader macro-financial risks. JackYi also said the team is preparing for potentially major opportunities, adding that such opportunities in the crypto space often emerge during bear markets.
Liquid Capital founder Yi Lihua posted on X, stating that two of the world’s three largest countries are at war, while the third is facilitating peace negotiations; once an agreement is reached, there will be no justification for continued conflict, and markets are poised for a rebound. He noted that, over the medium to long term, global investors are watching for a potential financial crisis—Buffett and others are hoarding cash, and countries are increasing their gold reserves. If a crisis erupts, Bitcoin’s (BTC) safe-haven properties will be tested, yet it may also present a buying opportunity. Additionally, JackYi remarked that artificial intelligence (AI) technology is creating new opportunities for exceptional founders: small teams can now develop globally scalable products without requiring substantial funding or management overhead. He advised experienced entrepreneurs to actively seize the AI wave.