Pharos, an L1 blockchain founded by former executives from Ant Group and Alibaba, has announced a strategic investment from GCL New Energy, valuing the company at nearly $1 billion. Pharos aims to build a payment-level, high-throughput L1 network, and its core members have led the development of Alipay's key payment architecture. GCL New Energy said that the investment aims to explore the application of blockchain technology in the field of green energy finance and digitalization of renewable assets.