Firelight Protocol completes $8 million funding round, led by Gumi Cryptos Capital.

DeFi protocol Firelight Protocol has secured an $8 million funding round led by Gumi Cryptos Capital, with participation from Maven 11, Metalayer, Joint Effects, Tribe Capital, and other investors. The project aims to build an on-chain risk protection layer for DeFi, planning to launch its protocol and first set of coverage products in September, while expanding its insured asset base from XRP to include Bitcoin (BTC) and Stellar (XLM). Incubated by DeFi infrastructure provider Sentora, Firelight targets the smart contract vulnerability risks that fintech companies face when entering the on-chain yield market. It has developed an on-chain protection mechanism where users’ insured positions are represented as NFTs. In the event of a vulnerability exploit, an alliance of independent risk firms—GFX Labs, Hypernative, Credora, Native, and Cyfrin—will evaluate claim eligibility, with a goal of completing reviews in 3–4 days and payouts within 10 days. Firelight CEO Anthony DeMartino stated that the product is not geared toward crypto-native speculators, but rather intends to act as a "protective layer" to drive the next wave of capital into on-chain spaces. Currently, roughly $80 billion is locked in DeFi, yet less than 1% of that total has on-chain risk coverage. Firelight identifies fintech firms, digital banks, and payment platforms as its core potential clients.