Digital Asset has secured $135 million in funding, drawing substantial backing from top institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs and Citadel Securities. Leading the funding round were DRW Venture Capital and Tradeweb Markets, with notable support also from BNP Paribas, DTCC, and Virtu Financial. This investment highlights the growing institutional confidence in blockchainA decentralized ledger that records transactions across a ne technology, particularly in Digital Asset‘s Canton Network, which aims to enhance interoperabilityThe ability of different blockchain systems to exchange and between decentralized finance and traditional financial assets. Discover more about this promising development.
Amidst a growing embrace of blockchain technology in traditional finance, Digital Asset has secured $135 million in its latest funding round, led by DRW Venture Capital and Tradeweb Markets. This notable influx of capital underscores the increasing confidence of institutional investors in blockchain’s potential to revolutionize financial markets.
The funding round also saw participation from heavyweight backers like Goldman Sachs, Citadel Securities, BNP Paribas, DTCC, and Virtu Financial, alongside crypto-focused investors such as Circle, Paxos, and Polychain Capital. This diverse array of contributors highlights the robust and expanding interest in blockchain technology across both traditional and crypto-native financial sectors.
Digital Asset plans to leverage this funding to expand the integration of real-world assets on its Canton Network. The strategic goals of the funding round center on facilitating institutional adoption of blockchain technology by enhancing privacy-enabled, public permissionless blockchain infrastructure. Nearly 400 organizations are currently active on the Canton Network, reflecting the broad engagement from various sectors.
The targeted assets for this integration include bonds, money market funds, alternative funds, commodities, repos, mortgages, life insurance, and annuities. By focusing on the tokenization and interoperability of these financial assets, Digital Asset aims to bridge the gap between decentralized finance (DeFi) and the traditional financial systems, creating a seamless interface for institutional players.
The Canton Network, Digital Asset’s platform, is designed as a public, permissionless blockchain with a focus on institutional use. This network marks a shift from Digital Asset’s earlier focus on the Daml smart contractA self-executing contract with terms written directly into c language, as they now prioritize building out the Canton Network ecosystem. Notably, the Canton Network offers configurable privacy features, setting it apart from ZKP-based solutions that are not yet mainstream-ready. The integration of various asset classes including bonds and money market funds, is a key focus of the network.
Multiple standalone Canton networks are already operational, managed by institutions like BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and Broadridge. These networks have enabled notable applications, including BNP’s Neobonds, Goldman Sachs’ Digital Assets Platform, HSBC’s Orion, and Broadridge’s repo solution, which handles $1.5 trillion in monthly transactions.
Institutional support for the Canton Network has been robust, with Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas partnering since 2023, ahead of the broader wave of crypto enthusiasm. The involvement of Citadel Securities and DTCC further endorses the network’s credibility and market interest.
The successful funding round signals a strong institutional commitment to integrating blockchain technology within traditional finance, validating Digital Asset’s long-term vision of a privacy-enabled blockchain infrastructure.
The use cases enabled by this funding and technology are transformative. Tokenized real-world assets can now extend across various asset classes, with digital bonds potentially serving as collateral in financial transactions.
The Canton Network’s capability for interoperability between tokenized assets sets it apart from isolated blockchain systems, supporting trading and settlement for alternative funds, repos, mortgages, and insurance products. This integration could markedly enhance the synergy between DeFi and traditional institutional finance.
