Raven, a new crypto proprietary trading firm co-founded by three former employees of Wintermute, has officially launched after securing $2.7 million in seed funding. The funding round was led by Hack VC, with participation from Wintermute Ventures and several undisclosed angel investors.

Petar Kostov, a co-founder of Raven and a former DeFi software engineer at Wintermute, shared with The Block that the seed round, initiated last November and concluded last month, was an equity round, bringing Raven's valuation to $25 million. Notably, there are no plans for a token launch. As part of the deal, Hack VC partner Roshun Patel has joined Raven's board of directors.

Founded in January 2023 by Kostov along with Yuriy Myronovych, the former head of DeFi and senior software architect at Wintermute, and Ivaylo Kirilov, another former DeFi software engineer at Wintermute, Raven aims to excel in high-frequency algorithmic trading and market making on both centralized and decentralized exchanges. "Our goal is to execute the best trades at the best times," Kostov stated.

Raven primarily engages in trading for its own profit but also provides liquidity to exchanges and projects through service level agreements (SLAs). These agreements ensure a consistent level of liquidity for specific tokens or markets across various trading platforms. "We trade on tier 1 and 2 centralized exchanges and most of the well-known DeFi protocols," Kostov explained.

Additionally, Raven has partnered with Global Markets Crypto Intelligence (GMCI), a crypto indices provider co-developed by Wintermute and The Block, to support the flagship GMCI 30 index. "We aim to build long-term partnerships with every exchange and project we engage with," Kostov added.

With the new funding, Raven plans to expand its operations to more centralized and decentralized exchanges. "We firmly believe that crypto is here to stay and grow, and we are committed to contributing to its growth," said Kostov. He emphasized that Raven's focus on technology would drive market growth and lead to the firm's success.

Currently headquartered in Bulgaria, Raven employs 11 people and plans to recruit more, particularly those with expertise in DeFi. This strategic focus on talent acquisition is expected to bolster Raven's capabilities in the competitive crypto trading landscape.