Notifi Is Latest Startup Trying to Crack Web 3’s Push Notification Problem

Tackling crypto’s messaging problem is becoming a hot bet for crypto venture firms, with Notifi, a protocol backed by Race Capital and Hashed, emerging as the latest entrant to the field.

The two-month-old company has $2.5 million in pre-seed funding to spend on building better communication rails for crypto projects and wallets. Initially focused on the Solana and Terra ecosystems, Notifi’s ultimate goal is to improve everything from push notifications to direct messages across the crypto world, said CEO Paul Kim.

“We’re trying to help manage that upcoming explosion of people pushing messages to you,” he said. He described an ugly future awash in Web 3 notifications: for on-chain transactions confirming, for promotions upcoming, for direct messages, for governance votes – “a boatload of messages spamming you non-stop.”

“We want to get ahead of that,” he said. “We want to create the infrastructure as well as the in-application experience so that we can help give that power back to you. Otherwise, you’re just gonna be inundated.”

A growing number of crypto teams are making similar plays. Just Wednesday, Dialect said it raised $4.5 million to build a “smart messaging” platform for Solana. And the Ethereum Push Notification Service went live in January.

Read more: Dialect Raises $4.1M to Bring ‘Smart Messaging’ to Solana

Part of the reason for this project rush is monetary. Trades move fast in crypto; if you don’t stay on top of your position you risk getting rekt. Kim said the “insane amount of liquidations” triggered by end-of-year volatility inspired him to start Notifi.

“We want to make sure that you – a degen in DeFi – monitor, manage and operate your positions as best as you can,” Kim said, referring to decentralized finance.

He also mentioned governance and gaming as two Web 3 areas where a robust notifications system could improve participants’ experience.

Any project, regardless of chain, would be able to utilize Notifi’s developer tools once it is fully live, Kim said.

The project website notes Solana and Terra as two ecosystems of initial focus. Kim said he’s working with Mango DAO to help integrate notifications with “order-book use cases” as well as governance.