Kraken-Backed Startup Launches Hybrid Crypto Exchange With $14M Raise
Crypto exchange startup Rails has launched its trading platform after raising $14 million, bringing total funding to $20 million. Investors include Kraken, CMCC Global, Slow Ventures, Round13 Capital, and Quantstamp. Rails employs a hybrid model that combines centralized execution speed with on-chain asset control and transparency. The platform utilizes a centralized matching engine while settling trades on-chain using cryptographic techniques like zero-knowledge proofs and Merkle trees, ensuring transaction transparency and user privacy. Rails aims to provide user control over assets without sacrificing execution speed. Initially, the exchange will support perpetual futures contracts collateralized with stablecoins and will operate exclusively on Kraken's Ink layer-2 blockchain. Rails was founded in 2023 by the team behind BlockEQ, a crypto wallet acquired by Coinsquare in 2018.
