A team of Nigerian engineers has raised $5.6 m in seed funding to develop Hyperbridge, a blockchain bridge designed to make the transfer of digital assets between networks significantly more secure.
The funding round was led by the Polkadot Ecosystem Fund, signalling strong global confidence in the Lagos-based innovation and the potential of African-led technology in the blockchain space, they said in a note shared with The PUNCH.
Hyperbridge, created by Polytope Labs in Ikoyi, Lagos, addresses a critical vulnerability in the blockchain industry. For years, moving digital assets such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs between different blockchain networks has been a high-stakes gamble.
They argued that existing bridges, designed to facilitate these transfers, have been notorious weak points, resulting in over $2bn in global losses due to hacks and exploits. Much of this risk stems from reliance on centralised, off-chain processes that are relatively easy for bad actors to compromise.
Unlike traditional bridges, Hyperbridge employs a decentralised, cryptographically secure verification system. Rather than relying on a small group of validators, the bridge operates entirely on-chain, drastically reducing the risk of hacks while enabling verifiable cross-chain transactions. This innovative approach positions Hyperbridge as the world’s first verifiable multichain bridge, setting a new standard for secure interoperability in the blockchain ecosystem.
The technology is the brainchild of Polytope Labs co-founders Seun Lanlege and David Salami. Both engineers bring extensive experience working on major blockchain networks, including Ethereum and Polkadot. Their expertise allowed them to design a solution that is not only functional but fundamentally more secure than existing alternatives, offering a robust framework for digital asset transfers worldwide.
“The impact of Hyperbridge is already being felt globally. The bridge has been named the official infrastructure for Polkadot, one of the leading blockchain networks, as part of Polkadot’s “DeFi singularity” initiative, which aims to enable seamless movement of its native token, DOT, across different blockchain ecosystems,” the note read.
To accelerate adoption, the Polkadot community has dedicated 795,000 DOT tokens worth roughly $3m to incentivise liquidity provision, making it easier for users to trade, lend, and use DOT across networks. Hyperbridge will serve as the technology underpinning these cross-chain operations.
Nigeria is home to one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing blockchain developer communities, and this development reinforces the country’s position as a hub for cutting-edge innovation. This achievement challenges long-standing narratives that Africa is merely a consumer of emerging technology, demonstrating instead that the continent can produce world-class solutions capable of competing on a global scale.
Beyond its international implications, Hyperbridge said it is also poised to promote financial inclusion within Africa. By enabling safer and more accessible cross-chain transactions, the platform could broaden participation in the digital economy, allowing more individuals and businesses to engage securely with cryptocurrencies and decentralised finance.
The $5.6m fundraise is expected to accelerate the development of Hyperbridge, expand its technical capabilities, and strengthen its security infrastructure.
Co-founders Lanlege and Salami have expressed ambition to continue positioning Nigeria as a leading innovator in blockchain technology while inspiring a new generation of African engineers to create transformative solutions for the global digital economy.
