Bio Protocol, a decentralized science (DeSci) platform, has landed $6.9 million in funding from backers including Maelstrom Fund and Animoca Brands, a considerable milestone in potentially redefining the global landscape of biotech research.
The investment, which was revealed on Wednesday, reflects the growing interest in the intersection of artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, and decentralized community engagement.
Maelstrom’s founder, Arthur Hayes, described Bio Protocol as a possible “category-defining launchpad” that could alter how scientific research is started and at scale.
He added that Bio Protocol is not designed solely with academics in mind, but rather with community needs in mind, in fostering research and the initiation of research areas that are meaningful to the community.
Accelerating Drug Discovery With AI, Blockchain, and Crypto
Bio Protocol aims to expedite the drug discovery process by leveraging BioAgents, decentralized AI agents that generate hypotheses, interact directly with on-chain wallets, and allocate capital — funded by community contributions—to experiments and research studies.
This model seeks to replace the lengthy and bureaucratic wait times for traditional grants or pharma partnerships.
Lastly, Bio Protocol offers crypto-native incentives such as tokenized IP, staking models, and a loyalty system to align researchers, investors, and the community.
Fixing Inefficiencies in Academic Research & BIO Price
Simon Dedic, the founder of Moonrock Capital and an early supporter of Bio Protocol, noted that DeSci might feel experimental or trendy to some extent. Nonetheless, it fixes objective inefficiencies in academic research.
Dedic, who has a background in academic science, took aim at the current system, which, to him, is rife with “massively misaligned incentives” that invariably slow or misalign the rate of progress made, sometimes with devastating consequences.
By transitioning away from excessive reliance on universities, government grant funding, and large pharmaceutical companies, Bio Protocol is creating a more open, community-based scientific ecosystem that allows independent researchers and communities to help dictate the trajectory of research.
At present, the token (BIO) is priced at $0.1771. The token’s 24-hour trading volume is $123 million and has grown 10.45% in the last 24 hours and 21.32% in the last week.
The last 7-day growth has put the token’s market capitalization over $340 million.
Also Read: GAIB Secures $10M Strategic Investment On Funding Led By Crypto Firm Amber Group
A Growing Wave of Web3 and DeSci Funding
Bio Protocol’s funding announcement is part of a broader influx of capital into Web3 projects at the intersection of AI, blockchain, and decentralized engagement.
On August 20th, the Web3 platform Yomirgo announced a $5 million Pre-A round led by Gobi Partners to build decentralized infrastructure for AI agents, UnoCrypto reported.
More recently, on September 12th, we reported that the Web3 gaming project RuneSoul announced a $4 million strategic round led by Bitgo Capital to scale Web3 gaming infrastructure and community growth.
Taken together, these funding rounds demonstrate substantial investor optimism for decentralized technologies that combine crypto, AI, and community-based approaches, and where Bio Protocol is establishing itself as a lead player.