Gondor, a DeFi startup backed by Maven11 Capital and others, has completed an angel round to launch a lending protocol that lets traders borrow against their Polymarket positions.
Summary
- Gondor is building a “DeFi layer for prediction markets,” starting with a borrowing protocol for Polymarket users.
- The platform enables trading on real-world events, but traders’ capital is locked until markets resolve.
- Gondor’s solution allows users to use open positions as collateral, unlocking liquidity and improving capital efficiency.
Gondor, a decentralized finance startup building a “DeFi layer for prediction markets,” has announced the completion of its angel round of funding. The round was led by Maven11 Capital, with participation from investors associated with Polymesh, Rhino.fi, Futuur, Salt, and others.
Its first product, set to launch soon, is a lending protocol that allows users to borrow against their open positions.
What is Polymarket: complete guide to crypto prediction markets
Polymarket is a crypto-based prediction market that allows users to bet on the outcomes of real-world events. On the platform, participants can trade shares tied to questions such as whether a political candidate will win an election, how economic indicators will move, whether Fed will cut rates, and even cultural and weather-related outcomes.
While the platform offers opportunities for significant profits through speculation, traders’ capital remains locked in markets until they resolve. For example, someone betting on the 2026 U.S. presidential election cannot redeploy that capital into other trades in the meantime. This “capital lock” often forces traders to miss out on new opportunities, even when they have strong conviction in their existing positions.
Gondor aims to solve this issue by introducing a borrowing layer to enable traders use their Polymarket positions as collateral to unlock liquidity without closing or selling their trades. “With Gondor, prediction market traders maximize returns by increasing their capital efficiency,” the team said in a post on X.
How Gondor’s DeFi protocol works
The Gondor protocol introduces an innovative approach to capital efficiency in the prediction market space. Unlike traditional lending platforms, Gondor specifically caters to Polymarket traders by allowing them to use their open positions as collateral for borrowing.
When users participate in Polymarket betting, their capital becomes locked until the market resolves, which can take weeks, months, or even years depending on the event. Gondor’s solution enables traders to maintain their positions while accessing additional liquidity, essentially doubling their capital efficiency.
The protocol evaluates the risk and potential value of open Polymarket positions, then offers loans based on these assessments. This means a trader betting on the 2028 presidential election can still access funds to participate in other prediction markets or DeFi opportunities.
The funding round positions Gondor as a pioneer in the emerging intersection of prediction markets and decentralized finance. Maven11 Capital’s involvement signals strong institutional confidence in the project’s potential to revolutionize how traders interact with prediction markets.
This development comes at a time when Polymarket has seen unprecedented growth, with billions in trading volume across various events. The platform’s success has highlighted the need for better capital management tools, which Gondor aims to address.
The startup’s approach could potentially expand beyond Polymarket to other prediction market platforms, creating a broader DeFi ecosystem for prediction market liquidity. This positions Gondor at the forefront of an emerging market niche that combines the growing popularity of prediction markets with the flexibility of decentralized finance protocols. As the prediction market industry continues to mature, solutions like Gondor’s could become essential infrastructure for maximizing trader efficiency.
Gondor’s innovative DeFi solution represents a significant evolution in prediction market infrastructure. By enabling traders to borrow against their Polymarket positions, the platform addresses a fundamental liquidity challenge that has long plagued prediction market participants. With backing from Maven11 Capital and other notable investors, Gondor is well-positioned to become essential infrastructure for the growing Polymarket ecosystem.