Andre Cronje's $200M Raise and Flying Tulip: All You Need to Know

Andre Cronje’s latest project, Flying Tulip, has secured $200 million in a private funding round and announced plans for a public token sale at a $1 billion valuation, according to an official press release. The project aims to build a full-stack onchain exchange that integrates spot trading, derivatives, lending, a native stablecoin, and onchain insurance within a single, cross-margin system. The public sale of its $FT token will occur across multiple chains, and all details will be officially published on the project’s website.

"Our goal is to provide institutional‑grade market structure with onchain guarantees and clear alignment between users, investors, and the team," said Andre Cronje, founder of Flying Tulip.

Flying Tulip: Overview

Flying Tulip is a DeFi technology company led by Andre Cronje, based in New York. The platform seeks to combine multiple financial functions into one integrated ecosystem. The project will debut on Sonic Labs and eventually expand to other blockchains. Its core offering includes:

• ftUSD, a native stablecoin designed for yield-generating opportunities
• Adaptive curve and automated market makers for efficient trading
• Dynamic loan-to-value (LTV) money markets
• Spot trading, derivatives, and options
• Onchain insurance to cover risks across the platform

Sonic Labs will provide the performance infrastructure needed to support complex financial operations, ensuring scalability for high-frequency trading, derivatives settlements, and integrated lending.

$200 Million Private Round and Investor Backing

The private funding round concluded on September 29 and raised $200 million at a $1 billion valuation. Participants included institutional and crypto-focused investors such as:

• Brevan Howard Digital
• CoinFund
• DWF Labs
• FalconX
• Hypersphere
• Lemniscap
• Nascent
• Republic Digital
• Selini
• Sigil Fund
• Susquehanna Crypto
• Tioga Capital
• Virtuals Protocol

No single investor dominated the round. The funds were raised via a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT). Flying Tulip intends to raise up to $1 billion in total, with up to $800 million planned for the public sale.

Public Sale Mechanics

The public sale will occur entirely onchain and span multiple blockchains. Key details such as the supported assets, initial circulating supply, and official smart-contract addresses will be published exclusively on Flying Tulip’s website. This is intended to minimize phishing and fraud risks.

Tokens purchased during both private and public sales will carry an onchain redemption right, also described as a “perpetual put.” This allows participants to burn their $FT tokens and redeem their original contribution in the asset provided, such as ETH. Redemptions are executed programmatically from a segregated onchain redemption reserve funded with capital from the raise.

Key points about the redemption system:

• Protects investor principal while maintaining upside potential
• Redemptions follow a queue and rate-limit to ensure solvency
• FT tokens remain non-transferable until the public sale closes

Tokenomics and Team Incentives

Flying Tulip’s tokenomics diverge from conventional models. The team receives no initial token allocation. Instead, exposure accrues through open-market buybacks funded by protocol revenues according to a transparent schedule. This approach ties incentives directly to platform usage and long-term performance.

ftUSD, the platform’s native stablecoin, is delta-neutral and fully auditable onchain. Unlike traditional stablecoins, it generates yield without introducing price volatility. User deposits are deployed across lending, borrowing, staking, and funding rates, offering an estimated 8–12% APY. ftUSD also acts as a composable base layer for other platform products, including lending, derivatives, and structured yield strategies.

ftUSD Stablecoin: Design and Functionality

ftUSD is designed to be a productive stablecoin without introducing volatility. Its key characteristics are:

• Delta-neutral, maintaining a $1 peg while generating yield
• Fully auditable and onchain, with no reliance on third-party attestations
• No liquidation risk due to hedged exposure
• Serves as a composable base layer for the platform’s lending, trading, and derivatives operations
• Integrates with the platform’s volatility-aware money markets for slippage-adjusted LTVs

The ftUSD yield engine supports liquidity across markets, improves pricing, and provides the foundation for derivatives and lending strategies.

Full-Stack Onchain Exchange Architecture

Flying Tulip integrates multiple DeFi products into a single platform. Spot trading, perpetual contracts, options, lending, and insurance are linked through a cross-margin system to improve capital efficiency. 

The platform uses volatility-aware curves and adaptive automated market makers, while limit orders are routed to achieve the best execution. Borrowing limits adjust dynamically to market stress and slippage, minimizing liquidation risks. Perpetual contracts are settled using internal exchange pricing rather than external oracles, allowing for fully permissionless and decentralized operation.

Revenue streams include trading fees, lending spreads, liquidations, stablecoin yield, and insurance premiums. By combining these elements, Flying Tulip aims to provide institutional-grade execution while retaining the transparency and auditability of onchain settlement.

Market Positioning and Strategy

Flying Tulip enters a competitive space. At a broad level, Cronje sees Coinbase and Binance as competitors, while product-level rivals include Hyperliquid, Aave, Uniswap, and Ethena. The platform builds on Cronje’s earlier work with Yearn, Sonic, and Deriswap, extending the concept of a unified DeFi system into a cross-margin trading hub. 

Flying Tulip currently operates with a 15-person team distributed across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Hiring continues as development accelerates. Cronje has not announced a fixed launch date but described the timing as “sooner than people think, later than they hope.” At launch, the platform will support Ethereum, Avalanche, BNB Chain, Sonic, and Solana, with further networks planned. Initial deployments on Sonic will test zero-fee trading under subsidized conditions.

Conclusion

Flying Tulip combines a full-stack onchain exchange with innovative tokenomics and investor protections. Its capabilities include integrated spot and derivatives trading, delta-neutral stablecoin yield, cross-margin lending, and onchain insurance. 

The onchain redemption right provides principal protection, while team incentives are tied to long-term usage. With $200 million already raised and $800 million planned for public sale, Flying Tulip offers a comprehensive, capital-efficient financial platform that could set a precedent for future DeFi projects.

Resources:

1. Press release - Flying Tulip Raises $200M; Announces $FT Public Sale at Same Valuation with onchain Redemption Right: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/flying-tulip-raises-200m-announces-ft-public-sale-at-same-valuation-with-onchain-redemption-right-302568004.html

2. Flying Tulip website: https://flyingtulip.com/

3. Flying Tulip X platform: https://x.com/flyingtulip_