[Funding alert] Exclusive: Strip Finance raises Rs 3.5 Cr in seed round to build collateralisation platform for NFTs

In an exclusive statement, collateralised NFT borrowing and lending marketplace Strip Finance said it has raised a seed round of Rs 3.5 crore (around $500,000) from Old Fashion Research, Nothing Research, Tenzor capital, Block0, Shima Capital, Lancer Capital, and J10M Capital.

As it looks to build its NFT platform and launch it on Binance Smart Chain, the startup maintains this will enhance liquidity in the NFT market by providing users with an option to retain ownership of NFTs and yet be able to derive liquidity.

Varun Satyam, Co-founder of Strip Finance, said:

“NFTs are gaining massive adoption from both retail users as well as institutions, but the collectors face liquidity challenge, often forcing them to sell off their prized assets. Going forward, NFTs will become the de-facto method of claiming ownership in the digital world and we want to be at the forefront with our offerings that increase capital efficiency in the space.”

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How it works

Strip Finance was founded by Varun Satyam, Yuvraj Chhibber and Yash Jejani in 2021.

The startup is creating a platform where anyone owning a desirable NFT can use it as collateral to borrow capital. The asset pricing data on the Strip Finance platform will be directly fetched from NFT marketplaces like Opensea, Rarible etc, and the startup will not be making changes to the pricing data.

The lender can propose an interest rate and duration, which, when accepted by the borrower, transfers the NFT to an escrow. If the instalments are paid in the stipulated time, the borrower will get the NFT back. In case of defaults, the ownership rights are transferred to the lender.

More about Strip Finance

With a majority of its founding team based in Hyderabad, the startup explained that it enables the capitalisation of NFT assets by aggregating liquidity on the platform through its decentralised P2P and curated pools model.

It added that its ability to collateralise NFTs through its liquidity protocol enhances the value proposition for both asset owners and yield-seeking investors. 

Strip Finance's advisory comprises Siddharth Menon, COO, WazirX; Jaynti Kanani, CEO, Polygon; Tamar Menteshashvili, Ecosystem and Growth, Solana; and Yida Gao, GP, Shima Capital.

Strip Finance Co-Founder Yuvraj Chhibber added, "The NFT market is still in the early stages and the application scenarios for us are immense. The investment will assist us in scaling our mission of building liquidity solutions and is a big validation of our approach towards integrating DeFi components into NFT.”

Siddharth Menon said, “Strip is solving an evident problem in the growing NFT finance space — borrowing and lending your precious NFT's as leverage. As veterans in the crypto space, this team could lead this market."

Going forward, Strip Finance's plans include foraying into debt financing of crypto projects by allowing project tokens minted as NFTs to be used as collateral on the platform. 

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