Pharos, a Layer 1 blockchain project dedicated to the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), has announced the successful completion of a $44 million Series A funding round. The round was co-led by Sumitomo Corporation, SNZ Holding, Chainlink, and Flow Traders, with participation from a diverse group of investors spanning both traditional finance and the cryptocurrency sector.
With this latest injection of capital, Pharos has achieved a $1 billion valuation, officially earning “unicorn” status. The company previously raised $8 million in a seed round co-led by Lightspeed Faction and Hack VC. A recent strategic investment from energy firm GCL New Energy also bolstered the company’s valuation.
An 'Asset-Native' Network Architecture
Pharos is building what it calls an “asset-native” blockchain network, designed specifically to handle large-scale, regulated financial activities. The system utilizes parallel processing to support high transaction throughput and features built-in compliance tools, aiming to meet the rigorous audit trail and identity verification requirements of institutional users.
Pharos estimates the market for RWA tokenization holds a potential value of $50 trillion. According to data from DefiLlama, the current market size for on-chain real-world assets stands at $24.3 billion, marking significant growth from the $14 billion recorded at the start of the year.
Regarding real-world implementation, Pharos has partnered with the energy conglomerate GCL Group to drive the tokenization of solar energy assets. The company claims its testnet has already attracted millions of users and unique addresses. However, industry observers caution that active-user data reported by blockchain projects prior to mainnet launch is often driven by incentive programs and may not fully reflect genuine market demand.
Following the completion of this funding round, Pharos has shifted its focus to the official deployment of its mainnet. The company expects to launch in the near future, positioning itself to support its expanding business operations in the RWA tokenization space.