Echelon, a DeFi lending protocol, raised USD 3.5 million in seed funding led by Amber Group, with participation from Laser Digital, Saison Capital, Selini Capital, Interop Ventures, and Re7. Echelon.

The company plans to use the funds to introduce new product offerings and expand its engineering and marketing teams. Specifically, it plans to develop new treasury and RWA-backed strategies and implement vaults for cross-chain deposits. 

Echelon is a decentralized lending protocol designed to facilitate the borrowing and lending of crypto assets through non-custodial asset pools. Built using the “Move” programming language, the platform supports institutional-grade markets on Movement, Aptos, and other Move-based blockchains. The protocol's key features include increased borrowing power on correlated assets, isolated pools for long-tail asset markets, and direct in-wallet integration.

Analyst QuickTake: The DeFi lending space has seen a large influx in investor interest within the last two months, with many startups raising funding. This includes Credbull, Arch Lending , Morpho , Liquidium , and Term Labs , which raised USD 5.2 million, USD 75 million, USD 50 million , USD 2.75 million , and USD 5.5 million , respectively. Echelon differentiates itself from its competition by allowing users to leverage Aptos-based liquid staking derivatives as collateral, enabling rehypothecation for higher yields.