BitClout creator launches new blockchain with $200 million in funding

BitClout creator, who goes by the pseudonym Diamondhands, has today revealed his identity with the launch of a new blockchain network dubbed “Decentralized Social” (DeSo). He is Nader Al-Naji, as some had suspected when BitClout was launched earlier this year. Al-Naji also founded the stablecoin startup Basis — which shut down in 2018 citing regulatory constraints and returned nearly all of the $133 million raised funds to investors. Now almost all of those investors have backed Al-Naji again with a $200 million investment. These investors include high-profile venture firms, such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Sequoia, Social Capital, TQ Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Winklevoss Capital, Polychain Capital, Pantera Capital, and Arrington Capital. Other investors include Blockchange Ventures, Distributed Global, Blockchain.com Ventures, Hack Ventures, and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. When asked why previous investors backed him again especially after Basis failed to launch, Al-Naji told The Block that they “care deeply” about fixing the problems that plague traditional centralized social media platforms. “I think for most of them, it wasn’t just about making money, but about creating a better platform for public discourse than what we have today,” said Al-Naji. Centralized social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, control public discourse…
Read More