Pichi Finance, a trustless points trading protocol offering price discovery to tokens pre and post-TGE, has announced the completion of a $2.5 million seed funding round, led by UOB Venture Management, Signum Capital and Mantle Network.
Pichi Finance said in a statement on Thursday that the round also included participation from leading global investors: DWF Ventures, Wise3 Ventures and Genesis Block Ventures who share Pichi Finance’s vision to enable trustless points trading through the ERC-6551 standard, to unlock the secure trading of points across protocols and to bring another layer of liquidity to the ecosystem.
The investment enables Pichi Finance to target new points programs to enable trading on day 1, to create vaults to earn yield and points together, and to expand to other EVM Chains.
It is noted that Pichi Finance is the first trustless points trading protocol, enabling users to trade points from their preferred protocols like EigenLayer, Ether.Fi, and HyperLiquid before TGE.
Points are incentives in blockchain protocols for participating in activities like staking, farming, and voting to track a user’s loyalty to the project, in which the points can be potentially converted into their share of the project’s airdrop upon TGE.
Conventionally, points are stored off-chain and tied to wallet addresses, limiting their tradability on an open market.
The ERC-6551 token standard was launched on the Ethereum mainnet in May 2023 and aims to enhance the functionality of NFTs by adding smart contract capabilities.
Pichi provides significant design improvements to the process of trading points by leveraging ERC-6551 Accounts.
These are wallets owned by non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and selling the NFT entails transferring ownership of the associated wallet along with any accrued points.
Users can create a Michi Wallet NFT and deposit tokens that earn points into the associated ERC-6551 wallet.
Once points accumulate in the wallet, users can withdraw the points-earning tokens and sell the Michi Wallet NFT, effectively selling the accrued points.
By leveraging ERC-6551 Accounts, Pichi Finance aims to unlock tradability by providing a trustless, transparent, and secure method for users to trade points before and after the TGE.
Through this model, no collateral is required from the buyer or seller; the sale process mirrors that of trading an NFT.
The trading process is completely trustless, and once the sale is accepted, the trade is guaranteed.
Pichi enables users to earn points securely while gaining access to a liquid market for trading these earned points.
Pichi Finance was established in February 2024 by Wesley Tang, David Zhu and Eric Zhu, who bring over 10 years’ experience in Web2 and Web3 technologies, GameFi, development and marketing to build a trustless points trading protocol where users can trade points, vested / locked tokens without the need for collateral.
“At Pichi Finance, we’re dedicated to unlocking the value of points in decentralized finance by creating a trustless marketplace for trading these rewards,” said Wesley Tang, Founder, Pichi Finance.
“Our ERC-6551 account solution addresses the issue of points being tied to individual accounts, enabling users to securely trade their points with ease,
“We offer price discovery for tokens both pre- and post-TGE, empowering users to take control of their financial futures in a transparent and accessible way,” he added.
Ash, Signum Capital x UOB Venture Management, said they are excited about Pichi’s NFT wallet (ERC-6551 tokenbound account) which simplifies farming across multiple protocols.
“Users can now earn points directly within the wallet, which can then be seamlessly traded on Pichi’s trustless marketplace,
“As they gear up towards their token launch, we’re confident that Pichi Finance will redefine how points are seen as an integral component to incentives and we’re excited to partner with them in their vision,” he added.