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Renowned DeFi developer Andre Cronje has unveiled his latest venture, Flying Tulip, which has secured $200 million in a seed funding round at a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $1 billion.
Sonic founder just raised $200M for his new new project "flying tulip" at a valuation of $1B
and they're now planning to raise another $800M in a public ICO sale
yes, you heard that right 💀 https://t.co/3IZrUxwzMw pic.twitter.com/84H669gm3a
— tobi.hl (@tobific) September 29, 2025
The round, conducted via a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT), attracted several prominent institutional investors, including Brevan Howard Digital, CoinFund, and DWF Labs. Notably, the seed raise had no lead investor.
Flying Tulip is described as a full-stack on-chain trading platform, integrating spot trading, derivatives, and lending into a single decentralized system.
Innovative On-Chain Redemption Rights
The project’s standout feature is its “on-chain redemption rights” mechanism. This allows investors to burn FT tokens at any time and redeem their initial contribution, up to the principal amount.
Dubbed a “perpetual put option,” the system protects downside risk while preserving the potential upside if token prices increase.
Andre Cronje stated:
“Our goal is to provide an institutional-grade market structure on-chain, with built-in guarantees and full alignment between users, investors, and the team.”
Aiming for $1B in Total Funding
Following the seed round, Flying Tulip plans a public token sale that could raise up to an additional $800 million, bringing total fundraising to $1 billion.
Unlike typical crypto launches, raised funds won’t be spent directly. Instead, they will be allocated into on-chain yield strategies via established protocols, providing stability akin to secure crypto staking.
Aligning Incentives with No Team Pre-Allocations
In a move to boost transparency and investor confidence, the team will receive no initial token allocations. Instead, compensation will come from protocol revenue and buybacks on the open market, ensuring long-term alignment with investors.
Redemptions will be managed through a transparent queue system with rate limits, protecting protocol solvency.
The project launches amid growing crypto regulatory harmonization in the U.S. and EU. Flying Tulip aims to operate across multiple blockchains, enhancing interoperability with ecosystems like Solana (SOL).
With its bold structure and investor-first safeguards, Flying Tulip could reshape how decentralized exchanges approach capital raising, security, and long-term sustainability.
