Decentralized finance service provider Chainage, with around $100 million in total value locked, is seeking to raise $13 million for protocol expansion, contingent on tokenholders’ approval within its native decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).

According to the April 1 snapshot proposal, the $13 million raise, led by an unknown venture capital firm, will result in the issuance of 50 million additional XCHNG protocol tokens, representing approximately 10% of Chainage’s circulating supply. The issuance price of $0.26 is roughly at par with XCHNG’s token price at the time of publication. 

Users are able to vote in the proposal by staking their native XCHNG tokens in exchange for “vXCHNG,” which represents voting rights tokens. “We are set to implement numerous strategies to enhance usage and profitability, as a result enabling us to assure vXCHNG holders a minimum of $1 Million in profit generation for Q2,” Chainage wrote, adding: 

“As previously stated, 80% of this profit will be allocated to vXCHNG holders, distributed according to our profit-sharing mechanism, as a direct advantage of the capital investment.”

Global expansion and visibility are the two main goals of the $13 million raise. The project also seeks to recruit “top-tier talent to fuse AI with cutting-edge technology” to position Chainge as a “leader in AI-powered crypto innovators.” 

The new capital, if approved, would also be used to incentivize Chainage’s liquidity, alongside supporting new partnerships, marketing ventures and rewards for tokenholders. The proposal has received 186 million XCHNG votes in favor and 7.2 million XCHNG votes against at the time of publication, against a backdrop of a 474 million circulating XCHNG balance.

The move marks a stark contrast to the venture capital scene of crypto startups, which typically solicit new investments based on the approval of shareholders, who are typically the company’s co-founders. Recently, more and more Web3 startups are turning to accelerator programs as crypto enters a new bull market and investors look to cash in on the craze.

Related: Marc Andreessen, Galaxy Digital, Accolade, back new $75 million crypto fund