Announcing Our Investment in C3 Protocol

By Andy Kangpan on February 9, 2023

We are excited to announce that we led the $6M seed round in C3, a next-generation self-custodial exchange.*

We believe there is enormous potential to build a trustless and open financial system utilizing blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies. Over the past year, we have seen the collapse of many centralized crypto entities which serves as a strong reminder of the risks that centralization can pose to the stability of complex systems.

These events also highlight how far the crypto industry has strayed from its promise of a truly decentralized, transparent, and open future. We overlooked the fact that some crypto institutions were in fact not championing any of the principles that guide the industry – self-custody, transparency, decentralization, and trustlessness. By putting too much trust in these entities, we did not propel the world towards an open financial system, but instead perpetuated the same issues we as an industry seek to positively change.

C3 represents a new generation of decentralized exchanges. The product enables users to transact with one another regardless of what base layer chain they utilize, and provides a high-quality transaction experience that we believe is on par with what both retail and professional traders expect from centralized entities. The project does all of this while allowing users to self-custody their funds, and to benefit from the transparency that on-chain exchanges provide.

For many years, we saw the bundling of many services (e.g., custody, settlement, lending, etc.) into a handful of centralized intermediaries. In the years to come, we believe the crypto market structure will begin to look like many TradFi analogues in that customer’s funds will sit in siloes, and critical market functions will be segregated across many separate providers. We believe C3 represents a major step in this direction by offering a clear separation of custody from exchange, without traders having to sacrifice on performance or pricing.

While 2022 was a challenging year for the crypto industry, it has only increased our resolve that the world stands to benefit from a more transparent and trustless financial system that embodies the true ethos of the crypto industry. We are thrilled to support C3 in their mission to build towards this future.

*View all TSV investments here.

The views expressed herein are solely the views of the author(s), are as of the date they were originally posted, and are not necessarily the views of Two Sigma Ventures, LP or any of its affiliates. 

They are not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for, investment advice, nor is any information herein any offer to buy or sell any security or intended as the basis for the purchase or sale of any investment.  The information herein has not been and will not be updated or otherwise revised to reflect information that subsequently becomes available, or circumstances existing or changes occurring after the date of preparation.  Certain information contained herein is based on published and unpublished sources. The information has not been independently verified by TSV or its representatives, and the accuracy or completeness of such information is not guaranteed. Your linking to or use of any third-party websites is at your own risk. Two Sigma Ventures disclaims any responsibility for the products or services offered or the information contained on any third-party websites.