Digital Asset, the company behind Canton Network, announced it’s raised $135 million led by DRW Venture Capital and Tradeweb Markets which is earmarked to accelerate institutional and decentralized finance adoption on the Canton Network, the only public, permissionless Layer-1 blockchain that offers configurable privacy and institutional-grade compliance at scale.
The capital will rapidly expand the integration of hundreds of billions of real-world assets (RWAs) onto Canton, building upon its already substantial deployment of diverse asset classes, including bonds, money market funds, alternative funds, commodities, repurchase agreements (repos), mortgages, life insurance, and annuities.
The raise also deepens the relationship with several firms already part of the Canton Network and its Global Synchronizer Foundation, including, BNP Paribas, DRW, Goldman Sachs, Liberty City Ventures, QCP, and Tradeweb, all of whom have played various roles in either the testing, governance, infrastructure, or app development on the Network since its inception.
The Canton Network, built and operationalized by Digital Asset in close partnership with top global financial institutions and technology providers, represents the inevitable next phase of financial infrastructure. Canton has experienced rapid growth over the past year, with nearly 400 ecosystem participants on the Network, including EquiLend, which is tapping it for its 1Source blockchain development.
Yuval Rooz, co-founder and CEO of Digital Asset, said in a statement: “This funding milestone validates the inevitability of what we envisioned years ago: a privacy-enabled public blockchain designed specifically for institutional adoption. Canton is already actively supporting numerous asset classes–from bonds to alternative funds–and this raise will accelerate onboarding even more real-world assets, finally making blockchain’s transformative promise an institutional-scale reality.”
Don Wilson, founder and CEO of DRW, said in a statement: “Major players from crypto and traditional finance have joined Digital Asset on its mission to catalyze the next evolution in markets. Building on the work that we started a decade ago, we are at the inflection point of being able to use blockchain at scale in traditional markets. With trillions of dollars’ worth of real-world assets already leveraging the Canton Blockchain, this next round of funding creates significant momentum for the company, and cements Canton as the de facto protocol for global collateral mobility.”
Billy Hult, CEO of Tradeweb, said in a statement: “Digital Asset and Canton are addressing real-world challenges in financial markets, not just theoretical concepts. The fact that such a wide range of asset classes are already integrated onto Canton is an important sign that this network is ready for mainstream finance. We are excited to support Digital Asset’s vision. At Tradeweb, we see DLT and smart contracts as catalysts for reimagining and reshaping market structure—unlocking workflow efficiencies and accelerating the shift toward electronic markets.”
The round includes participation from major institutions in both traditional and decentralized finance, including BNP Paribas, Circle Ventures, Citadel Securities, Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Goldman Sachs, IMC, Liberty City Ventures, Optiver, Paxos, Polychain Capital, QCP, Republic Digital, 7RIDGE, and Virtu Financial.
Mathew McDermott, global head of Digital Assets at Goldman Sachs, said in a statement: “Goldman Sachs remains committed to accelerating the adoption of digital assets and a blockchain-powered financial system. Our longstanding relationship with Digital Asset stems from a deep conviction in the strength of their technology, which continues to be foundational to the development and ongoing success of GS DAP®. We are pleased to participate in their latest funding round and to continue to support them as a critical player in the institutional digital asset ecosystem.”