Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of crypto exchange Binance, has taken the lead in a $10 million funding round for Neutron, a cross-chain smart contract platform focused on interchain security within the Cosmos ecosystem.

CoinFund co-led the funding, proceeds from which will help advance development of Neutron’s blockchain software and promote growth for its ecosystem, according to a statement.

Neutron, which had its mainnet launch in May, is a cross-chain smart contract platform that uses the Cosmos ecosystem’s interchain security feature, Replicated Security (RS). Developers can use Neutron to build smart contracts and decentralized applications (dapps) in a cost-effective and secure environment, the firm said in the statement.

Neutron is interoperable across the 51 blockchains within the Cosmos network that are connected through Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC), the statement added.

“Neutron was designed to solve the three main hurdles faced by smart-contract developers in Cosmos: lack of security, lack of credible neutrality and lack of access to cross-chain infrastructure," said Neutron founding contributor Avril Dutheil in an emailed statement to CoinDesk.

"RS allowed Neutron to solve the first two, while Neutron’s cross-chain infrastructure allows smart-contracts to easily realize cross-chain functions over IBC,” Dutheil added.

Other investors in the round included Delphi Ventures, LongHash Ventures, Semantic Ventures and Nomad Capital.