Binance and Orbs sponsor new accelerator for DeFi startups

Orbs, an Israeli blockchain company building a public blockchain infrastructure project, and Binance announced Monday the launch of a new accelerator for the DeFi ecosystem.

Named DeFi.org, the accelerator focuses on supporting the research and development of open-source software and community development in the DeFi space. The accelerator will evaluate projects based on their innovativeness and composability within the space, as well as principles of fair distribution, community ownership, sustainable economics and a sound approach to risk management.

Participants receive benefits including mentorship, the opportunity for funding and exposure to the market and DeFi community. The accelerator’s mentors initially include veterans of the Orbs team, with Binance team members expected to join soon. Additional mentors from different backgrounds are being recruited as well.

In line with the sponsorship, startups will have additional consideration if they are willing to apply for participation in Binance’s “Bridging DeFi and CeFi” program or the Orbs Grant Program. The wider accelerator program is, nonetheless, blockchain agnostic and allows anonymous developers to participate as well.

The sponsorship also marks an upcoming transition to DeFi for the Orbs project. One of the accelerator’s mentors is Tal Kol, technical co-founder of Orbs. According to the team, he led efforts to research and develop DeFi protocols in-house. Orbs has previously focused on enterprise adoption, but its proof-of-stake consensus algorithm is using an Ethereum-based token to represent value, making DeFi integrations easier than with most other layer-one blockchains.

Nonetheless, the DeFi.org accelerator is as of yet missing well-known players and founders in DeFi among its participants. Competition for hosting DeFi projects on non-Ethereum blockchains is fierce, as a multitude of competitors promise faster blockchains and support. Nonetheless, some believe DeFi activity will remain confined within the Ethereum ecosystem.