Consumer crypto trading app Fomo has raised $17 million in Series A funding led by Benchmark, one of Silicon Valley’s most selective venture firms — marking a rare crypto investment for the VC known for backing companies like Uber, Snap, and Stripe.
The round brings Fomo’s total funding to $19 million since its launch in May 2024.
Founded by Paul Erlanger and Se Yong Park, both former dYdX employees, Fomo aims to become a “super app for digital assets” — giving users access to millions of tokens across multiple blockchains in a frictionless, social-first experience.
Instead of raising a traditional seed round, the founders went unconventional. They created a list of 200 “dream angels” and pitched them one by one — resulting in 140 individual backers, including Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron, Solana co-founder Raj Gokal, and former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan.
“We knew that every single person would bring real value to the business,” said Erlanger. “And the response was overwhelming — fewer than a handful said no.”
A fast-growing crypto super app
Fomo’s app lets users trade major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana — as well as meme coins and niche altcoins — without dealing with blockchain “gas fees.” The company takes a 0.5% transaction fee (with a small minimum on Solana trades) while covering the blockchain fees itself to make trading seamless.
The app’s social trading layer lets users follow friends and expert traders, mirroring social finance trends popularized by apps like Public and eToro.
One month after launch, Fomo added Apple Pay integration, dramatically lowering onboarding friction and triggering what Erlanger called a “massive influx” of users. Within weeks, the platform reached $3 million in daily trading volume and $150,000 in weekly revenue.
Today, the startup claims over 120,000 users, $20–40 million in daily volume, and $150,000 in daily revenue — growth that helped secure Benchmark’s interest.
“Paul and Se have a clear vision to make crypto assets both easy to discover and trade,” said Chetan Puttagunta, General Partner at Benchmark, who will join Fomo’s board. “Their vision is clearly resonating — the growth since launch has been exceptional.”
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Benchmark’s rare crypto move
Benchmark has only made a handful of crypto-related bets in its history, including Chainalysis and Toncoin. But Puttagunta, known for backing infrastructure and developer platforms like Elastic, LangChain, and Cursor, said Fomo’s speed and traction stood out.
According to the founders, Benchmark was the only institutional investor in the round — the rest came from their network of angels, who also helped connect them with Puttagunta.
“This round is a validation of what we’re building — a truly accessible, social, and fast experience for trading any crypto asset, on any chain,” said Park.
With new capital in hand, Fomo plans to add support for more blockchains, expand its asset universe, and push deeper into mainstream consumer markets — ultimately enabling trading of other asset types, from prediction markets to traditional securities.
About Fomo
Founded in 2024 by Paul Erlanger and Se Yong Park, Fomo is a consumer crypto super app that lets users trade millions of assets across any blockchain instantly — with no gas fees and a built-in social trading experience. Powered by fast, multi-chain infrastructure and designed for accessibility, Fomo aims to make digital asset investing as easy as using Apple Pay.
