Crypto.com Capital, the venture arm of Crypto.com, has made a strategic investment in Moonlander, a decentralized perpetuals exchange built on Cronos EVM and zkEVM, as per reports shared with Finbold on September 22.
Moonlander aims to expand access to high-leverage on-chain trading, offering up to 1000x leverage, while integrating passive yield opportunities for liquidity providers.
By leveraging Cronos’ dual-chain infrastructure, the platform combines scalability with low transaction costs, supporting both professional traders and passive participants.
Liquidity model and social-first design
At the core of Moonlander’s design is the Moonlander Liquidity Pool (MLP), a shared pool of assets that acts as the counterparty to all trades.
The model is designed to maximize capital efficiency and minimize slippage for traders, while liquidity providers receive yield paid in Cronos (CRO) and other tokens from platform fees. Security measures include real-time price feeds from PYTH oracles to help prevent manipulation and abnormal liquidations.
Beyond trading mechanics, Moonlander is building a “social-first” user experience, including token-specific chat rooms, real-time leaderboards, and narrative-driven markets tied to global events and internet culture.
“Moonlander’s team has demonstrated exceptional technical vision and the ability to execute on a sophisticated product that we believe can become a cornerstone of the DeFi ecosystem on Cronos. We are committed to providing the Moonlander team with the resources and network needed to help them reach their full potential.” said Tommy Chan, Head of DeFi Investment at Crypto.com Capital.
The investment will support Moonlander’s development team expansion, platform upgrades, and new marketing initiatives to attract users and liquidity. According to the project, Moonlander has already surpassed $33 million in total value locked (TVL) and $2 billion in cumulative trading volume.
“We are thrilled to partner with Crypto.com Capital, a team that shares our deep conviction in the future of decentralized finance,” said Athena, co-founder of Moonlander. “Building on Cronos was a strategic choice, offering us the perfect blend of security, speed, and access to a massive and engaged user community. This investment is a powerful endorsement of our technology and our mission to build the most capital-efficient and feature-rich derivatives platform in DeFi. Together, we will accelerate the next wave of financial innovation on-chain.”
Moonlander’s native utility and governance token, Full Moon (FM), was recently listed on the Crypto.com App, making it available to a global user base.
Featured image via Shutterstock.