The Bitcoin lending protocol Zest has raised $3.5 million. The seed round was led by billionaire investor Tim Draper, with participation from Binance Labs, Flow Traders, Trust Machines, and others. The Zest protocol uses the Nakamoto upgrade and bridging asset sBTC (pegged to Bitcoin 1:1) on the Bitcoin Layer 2 stack to create a fully native lending experience on the world's largest blockchain network.

DeFi protocol Zest Protocol has completed its first round of financing and will be launched on the Blast mainnet. The financing round was led by Youbi Capital, and the specific amount of financing has not been disclosed. Zest Protocol's DeFi product launched on the Blast Layer2 platform aims to provide a high-yield collateralized stablecoin solution. It separates the yield and price fluctuations of Blast ETH in a special way and has launched two innovative products: zUSD (a stablecoin that provides Blast ETH leverage yield) and mirrorETH (an on-chain leveraged Ethereum derivative with no funding fees). In addition, Zest Protocol will open a Genesis Pool pre-deposit on the Blast mainnet today, and users will receive Blast yield, Blast Points, and Zest Points.