COORDINATION PROBLEM

 

If the last few years in crypto have taught us anything, it’s that building blockchains is no longer the hard part — coordinating them is. As ecosystems splinter and capital fragments, the need for seamless, scalable, and secure collaboration between networks grows. As this trend accelerates, the most valuable infrastructure will be the connective tissue that allows networks to bootstrap security, evolve with flexibility, and operate without friction. We believe the most important projects in the future won’t just power a single chain, they will orchestrate many.

 

WHY WE INVESTED

 

Symbiotic is a generalized shared security protocol and universal staking framework designed to serve as the coordination layer for decentralized networks. It allows any network from Layer 1s, Layer 2s, or application-specific chains to plug into a flexible restaking architecture and access permissionless security infrastructure. Unlike alternatives that impose one-size-fits-all assumptions, Symbiotic lets networks define their own reward and slashing logic, tokenomics, and governance systems while evolving those mechanisms over time to fit changing needs throughout the network’s lifecycle.

 

What drew us in was the combination of scalability, neutrality, and modularity. The protocol is infrastructure, not ideology, so it doesn’t run its own L2, doesn’t compete with rollups and doesn’t push a governance agenda. That neutrality makes Symbiotic an attractive foundation for high-tier networks that want full sovereignty but don’t want to build trust and validator infrastructure from scratch. It’s a rare case where doing less in terms of opinions and ownership unlocks much more.

 

 

Where other shared security models carry governance risk, political baggage, or require protocol compromises, Symbiotic keeps its core contracts immutable, its integrations flexible, and its role minimal — just enough to coordinate, but never enough to interfere. This approach has already proven attractive to top-tier networks and AVS teams looking for a scalable path to decentralization.

 

THE TEAM

 

Symbiotic was incubated by Paradigm and Cyber Fund and is led by Misha Putiatin and a team that blends deep protocol design with a pragmatic view of how crypto infrastructure evolves. They’ve moved fast — deploying core contracts, integrating with over a dozen networks, and capturing the attention of major players across Ethereum and modular ecosystems. Their roadmap includes exciting partnerships and a longer-term goal of creating a “menu of decentralization”, or a playbook for new networks to choose best practices and go to market faster and more securely.

 

LOOKING AHEAD

 

We’re excited to lead Symbiotic’s $29 million Series A with participation from Coinbase Ventures and a group of other experienced crypto builders. As the industry trends toward more flexible, sovereign infrastructure, we believe Symbiotic will become the default coordination layer for decentralized collaboration.

 

Want to dive in deeper? Check out this podcast on Symbiotic featuring Misha Putiatin and Paul Veradittakit. If you’d like to learn more or explore open roles, visit symbiotic.fi