Pantera Capital Leads $20 million to Back Subzero’s ‘Internet-Scale’ Blockchain

- Pantera Capital backs Subzero Labs' $20 million bid to scale dApps. - Former Mysten Labs engineers lead new blockchain venture, Rialo. On August 1, 2025, The Block reported that Pantera Capital spearheaded a $20 million funding round for Subzero Labs to build Rialo, a new blockchain promising Web2-level efficiency for decentralized applications. This investment, finalized in the first quarter of 2025, also included contributions from Variant, Coinbase Ventures, Hashed, Susquehanna Crypto, Mysten Labs, Fabric Ventures, and Mirana Ventures. Rialo is designed to enable internet-scale decentralized applications and introduces innovative technological features, such as the RISC-V instruction set architecture for smart contracts. Additionally, the blockchain is compatible with the Solana Virtual Machine (VM) to enhance scalability. These advancements aim to deliver a Web2-level user experience and performance within a decentralized framework, redefining standards for blockchain-based application development. Subzero Labs was co-founded by Ade Adepoju and Lu Zhang, who were early engineers at Mysten Labs and contributed to the Sui network's development. Their extensive experience spans both Web2 and Web3 domains, with prior roles at Meta, Google, Netflix, and AMD. In addition, the company employs talent from global tech leaders like Apple, Amazon, and TikTok, as well as from notable blockchain ecosystems such as Polkadot and NEAR Protocol. Paul Veradittakit, a managing partner at Pantera Capital, emphasized the transformative potential of Subzero Labs' vision for Rialo, expressing confidence in the team’s ability to deliver foundational infrastructure for blockchain innovation.