Gondor, a decentralized finance (DeFi) startup, has successfully completed its angel round of funding to launch a lending protocol aimed at solving a key liquidity issue in the prediction market space. The round, led by Maven11 Capital, also saw participation from investors associated with Polymesh, Rhino.fi, Futuur, Salt, and others.
A new layer for prediction market liquidity
Gondor’s first product, set to launch soon, is a lending protocol that allows traders to borrow against their open Polymarket positions, unlocking liquidity without having to close or sell their trades.
Polymarket is a crypto-based prediction platform where users bet on the outcomes of real-world events, such as political elections, economic indicators, and even weather patterns. While offering opportunities for significant profits, Polymarket currently locks traders’ capital into positions until the market resolves, which may take months or years. This “capital lock” often forces traders to miss new opportunities, even if they remain confident in their existing bets.
Gondor aims to solve this problem by introducing a borrowing layer, which allows users to keep their positions open while accessing additional capital, effectively maximizing their capital efficiency.
Gondor’s protocol boosts capital efficiency
Gondor’s DeFi protocol provides an innovative way to unlock liquidity by using open Polymarket positions as collateral for borrowing. Instead of having to sell or close a position to free up funds, traders can maintain their bet while gaining access to fresh liquidity.
This mechanism boosts capital efficiency, allowing traders to participate in additional prediction markets or other DeFi opportunities without sacrificing existing positions. The protocol evaluates the risk and value of the open positions and provides loans based on those assessments. For instance, a trader with a position on the 2028 U.S. presidential election could still access funds to engage in other prediction markets, significantly increasing their trading potential.
Backing from Maven11 Capital and growth potential
The funding round positions Gondor as a pioneer at the intersection of prediction markets and DeFi. Maven11 Capital’s involvement signals institutional confidence in the project’s potential to reshape how traders manage their positions in prediction markets.
This development comes as Polymarket continues to see tremendous growth, with billions in trading volume across various events. As the need for better capital management tools in the space intensifies, Gondor’s platform aims to fill this gap by offering a solution that increases the capital efficiency of prediction market participants.
While Gondor’s initial focus is on Polymarket, the protocol could potentially expand to other prediction markets, creating a broader DeFi ecosystem and giving traders access to increased liquidity across platforms.