Why We Invested in OneBalance
Eliminate chains, bridges and gas for your users with OneBalance
OneBalance represents a transformative leap in blockchain infrastructure—one that directly addresses the longstanding friction in Web3’s user experience by proposing a paradigm shift from chain-centric design to an account-centric architecture. Founded by Stephane Gosselin, Daniel Worsley and Ankit Chiplunkar, OneBalance introduces the framework for “Credible Accounts,” a next-generation account model that unbundles credible commitments from global consensus and unlocks true interoperability across blockchains. This approach reframes the technical narrative of Web3 from one of fragmentation to seamless composability, enabling instant fulfillment of cross-chain state transitions without compromising security or user sovereignty.
OneBalance is led by Stephane Gosselin, a seasoned protocol architect with deep expertise in decentralized infrastructure. From co-founding Flashbots to designing systems at Numerai and Kordina, his expertise spans blockchain research, consensus design, and early-stage protocol development. He’s joined by Daniel Worsley, an experienced operator who previously led operations at Flashbots and scaled platforms like LocalCoinSwap from the ground up. Ankit Chiplunkar, Co-founder and CTO, brings rigorous analytical thinking and technical depth from his PhD in Aerospace Engineering, along with hands-on development experience at Coinbase. Together, Stephane, Daniel and Ankit bring decades of combined experience in blockchain architecture, operational scaling and advanced research and development, making them uniquely positioned to solve Web3’s most persistent UX and interoperability challenges.
At the heart of OneBalance is the concept of the Credible Commitment Machine (CCM), an off-chain trust-minimized system capable of issuing and validating resource locks—cryptographically verifiable user intents that can be executed across chains without fear of equivocation. This novel design solves the core dilemma facing current account models: while EOAs are cheap and fast but not trustworthy (due to equivocation), and Smart Contract Accounts (SCAs) are trustworthy but costly and slow (due to global consensus constraints), Credible Accounts deliver the best of both worlds. The result is an architecture that provides low-latency, gas-abstracted, and composable interactions across any chain—including Ethereum, Solana, and Bitcoin—without requiring custody, bridging, or EOA overhead.
OneBalance enables a “unified account layer” that abstracts the complexity of multichain UX into a single predictable interface. It allows applications and users to aggregate liquidity, enforce programmable permissions, use modern authentication (passkeys, session keys, FIDO), and even outsource execution to solver networks—while retaining the freedom to exit and the ability to choose their security model (TEE, MPC, or chain-native). The implications of this are profound: developers can build intent-based applications like decentralized trading platforms, cross-chain lending protocols, or even non-custodial exchanges that operate with the speed of centralized services, all without losing trust assumptions.
Beyond its architectural breakthrough, OneBalance distinguishes itself through an exceptional developer experience (DX) designed for universal adoption. The OneBalance SDK abstracts away multichain complexity and provides a single, unified API for interacting with tokens, performing swaps, and executing smart contract calls across chains. Developers no longer need to manage different RPC providers, gas payment strategies, or bridge integrations. Instead, they work with predictable, declarative primitives like GetAggregatedBalance, GetQuote, and ExecuteQuote—all chain-abstracted and permissioned through modern authentication methods such as session keys and passkeys.
OneBalance offers support for multiple account configurations (e.g., EIP-4337, EIP-7702, Role-Based), making it compatible with a wide range of existing applications and wallet infrastructure. Developers can choose their security model, whether using smart contract accounts, TEEs, or MPC setups, while retaining full modularity and composability with the broader CAKE working group standards. This flexibility is critical for long-term developer trust and adoption.
The developer tooling is modern, modular, and well-documented—offering built-in support for fast vs. standard execution paths, transaction lifecycle tracking, and real-time fulfillment verification. Importantly, developers building with OneBalance benefit from backwards compatibility with any chain, including non-EVM chains, enabling rich composability and liquidity aggregation in ways previously only possible through custodial solutions.
By making multichain intent execution a drop-in integration rather than a months-long engineering effort, OneBalance becomes not just a protocol, but a platform for the next generation of Web3 apps—whether they be wallets, Telegram bots, NFT marketplaces, or cross-chain DeFi protocols.
For L2IV, OneBalance sits at the convergence of several key theses. It aligns directly with our vision of Web3 infrastructure as programmable, privacy-preserving, and modular, rooted in systems that scale both technologically and socially. The architectural underpinnings of OneBalance—particularly its use of local locks over global consensus, the clean abstraction over user intent, and the emerging standardization from the CAKE Working Group—demonstrate not only technical maturity, but a forward-thinking ethos compatible with our investments in intent-centric protocols, ZK systems, and decentralized coordination primitives.
Moreover, OneBalance’s modular framework and compatibility with EIP-4337 and EIP-7702 reinforces our belief in composable middleware as the path to protocol longevity. The team’s collaborative DNA, with deep engagement from ecosystem builders including Anoma, Ethereum Foundation members, and ZeroDev, reflects our preferred investment profile: not isolated founders, but protocol architects with the capability to unify fragmented efforts under coherent, standards-driven execution.
The fit between OneBalance and L2IV is natural. L2IV provides more than capital—we bring technical stewardship, research amplification, and network acceleration. We see OneBalance not as an application layer product, but as an emerging coordination layer for the multichain economy, capable of abstracting away the seams of blockchain UX in the same way that TCP/IP abstracted the early internet. As this new account abstraction layer takes shape, L2IV is committed to working side by side with the OneBalance team to realize a shared mission: bringing Web3 to its first billion users through scalable, sovereign, and seamless digital infrastructure.
In investing in OneBalance, we are not merely backing a startup—we are backing a shift in worldview. And that is exactly the kind of frontier where L2IV thrives.
Disclaimer: This content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisors as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services.