Canton Network developer raises $355 million to bring Wall Street onchain
The investment comes as blockchains designed for big banks and institutions are having a moment, with Stripe’s Tempo and Circle’s Arc raising hundreds of millions of dollars.
What to know:
- Digital Asset, the developer of the Canton Network blockchain, said it raised $355 million in a funding round led by a16z crypto.
- Global institutions including ABN Amro, Apollo Funds, BNP Paribas, Citadel Securities, HSBC, SBI Group and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority joined the round.
- The funding underscores the growing interest from traditional finance in blockchain infrastructure tailored to regulated markets and institutions.
The amount raised beat the target of $300 million at a $2 billion valuation that was reported last month.
The investment comes as traditional financial firms increasingly back blockchain infrastructure built specifically for regulated markets. Tempo, the payments chain developed by Stripe and Paradigm, reportedly raised $500 million last year at a $5 billion valuation. Circle Internet (CRCL), the stablecoin issuer behind USDC, raised $222 million for its Arc blockchain at a $3 billion valuation, drawing backing from BlackRock, Apollo Funds, a16z crypto and ARK Invest.
The Canton Network was designed for big financial institutions to issue and trade tokenized real-world assets, such as bonds, loans and funds, on a shared ledger while maintaining privacy and compliance with legal requirements. It combines features of public blockchains, such as decentralization, with the safeguards required by traditional finance.
