There are countless decentralized exchanges for the trading of digital assets. While these exchanges remove the need for third-party intermediaries, they are vulnerable to exploitation by malicious actors. Jumbo is a decentralized exchange, built on the NEAR protocol, for digital assets that brings a know-your-transaction (KYT) approach that minimizes the risk of nefarious action while providing stellar execution and favorable pricing. The exchange is built on an automated market maker protocol (AMM) that uses liquidity pools based on algorithms to create a liquid exchange to transact with low fees and costs since it’s completely peer-to-peer. Jumbo has focused on user-friendliness to allow it to be intuitive while also robust with instantaneous swaps, high yields and seamless pool transition, and permissionless liquidity pools. Since its launch in 2021, the exchange has handled over $745M in cumulative volume across 20,000+ unique wallets. The company also is building out an accelerator platform to showcase live investment opportunities on the platform.
London TechWatch caught up with Jumbo CEO Alex Dyatlenko to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to $3.7M, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
$3.5M. Series A. Leading Venture Capital Investors were Huobi and Pantera. We also had a contribution from GenBlock Capital, MetaWeb, NEAR Foundation, Fundamental Labs, and Big Brain Holdings.
Tell us about your product or service.
Jumbo Exchange is NEAR native DEX that aims to solve two problems:
- Enable a seamless transition to web3 trading space by streamlining UI/UX aspect
- Directly facilitate the growth of the NEAR Blockchain ecosystem by providing a comprehensive entry point by the means of a unique accelerator program called PitchTalk
What inspired the start of Jumbo?
Jumbo was the product of a Near ecosystem lacking in the respect of competing DEXes (it’s imperative to have competition within the ecosystem for the sake of innovation) and the ability to bootstrap NEAR unique features (which are inherently centered around user experience) to create a very smooth and familiar means of trade.
How is it different?
There are a couple of things that we do differently. Jumbo Exchange is the only DEX that utilizes a unique Anti-Money laundering mechanism by introducing KYT (know your transaction) approach that helps to identify risky addresses based on Blockchain-derived data. As such, we present an approach to DeFi compliance that doesn’t involve a complete rewriting of the DeFi itself and instead utilizes blockchain-true tools to implement ways to combat money laundering.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
We are targeting the web3 market. Demographically we tend to follow the popularity of NEAR which is mostly the Asian market.
What’s your business model?
As a DEX our business model revolves around transaction fees.
How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?
Runway is a crucial thing to have. Before even attempting to fundraise we anticipated a market downfall in the next months. As such, our strategy when it came to the after-fundraising stage was to ensure sufficient runway and relatively frugal Marketing Spend.
Runway is a crucial thing to have. Before even attempting to fundraise we anticipated a market downfall in the next months. As such, our strategy when it came to the after-fundraising stage was to ensure sufficient runway and relatively frugal Marketing Spend.
What was the funding process like?
Our funding stage lasted about two months. The whole process was very much streamlined and involved for the most part networking and connecting with a number of VCs. We were prepared ahead of time for that and had both Pitchdeck as well as Testnet ready for showoff. This has drastically increased our chances of raising funds since we were secured in the developmental department.
Fundraising was also easier than expected thanks to a $100k grant from NEAR and their continuous help throughout with networking.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
When it comes to crypto, the main thing to keep in mind during fundraising is to always be cognizant of the tokenomics laid out. It can mean being fastidious when choosing a VC and making sure not to go overboard with overselling or even being caught in some predatory Market Making strategies proposed to you.
Being on guard for what the crypto market has in store for you and preparing for the worst is also quite a challenge. It’s important to keep all of the factors in mind.
When it comes to crypto, the main thing to keep in mind during fundraising is to always be cognizant of the tokenomics laid out. It can mean being fastidious when choosing a VC and making sure not to go overboard with overselling or even being caught in some predatory Market Making strategies proposed to you.
Being on guard for what the crypto market has in store for you and preparing for the worst is also quite a challenge. It’s important to keep all of the factors in mind.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the cheque?
I think it was both our preparedness and certitude with which we pitched our ideas and vision. Business-wise we had an approach to present that was original and made sense.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We are fully concentrating on our accelerator program and upcoming Hackathon that we will be launching in the next months. We fully realize the fact that being a part of a blockchain ecosystem means you have to contribute to the success of that ecosystem. That’s the only way to get success for yourself.
What advice can you offer companies in London that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
The best thing you can do without capital is to think about how to get capital. Despite market turbulence, there are still opportunities especially in the web3 space to raise funds and build a project that you want to build.
The best thing you can do without capital is to think about how to get capital. Despite market turbulence, there are still opportunities especially in the web3 space to raise funds and build a project that you want to build.
Unlike bull markets, however, during a market slump, there is more attention on the viability and farsightedness of both project and its founders.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We don’t have grand plans in the short term. Stability in both business and tech development is key to nurturing success in the long term with ambitious but doable goals.
What’s your favorite coffee shop or location to hold a meeting?
In this environment, Google Meet is the best location to hold a meeting especially given the distributed nature of web3.
