Digital Asset Holdings seeks $300M funding round at $2B valuation: Sources
The enterprise blockchain firm responsible for developing the Canton Network is pursuing a new funding round worth $300 million, with leadership from an established venture capital player in the cryptocurrency space.
Digital Asset Holdings, an enterprise blockchain firm that developed the Canton Network—a permissioned blockchain infrastructure designed for financial institutions with built-in privacy capabilities—is pursuing new funding that would value the company at $2 billion, according to reports.
According to Bloomberg, which referenced sources familiar with the matter who requested anonymity, the funding round totaling $300 million is under the leadership of a16z crypto, the venture capital firm, with expectations that the deal will reach completion within the coming weeks.
This development surfaces fewer than 12 months following Digital Asset's announcement of securing $135 million through a strategic investment round that saw DRW Venture Capital and Tradeweb Markets take leading positions. When Cointelegraph reached out via email on Sunday, a representative from the company chose not to provide comment.
A collaboration announced in December between Digital Asset, the Canton Network, and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) will facilitate the tokenization of assets held in DTCC custody on the Canton Network infrastructure.
The DTCC revealed plans during the previous week to initiate pilot programs for trading tokenized representations of a portion of the $114 trillion in liquid assets under its custody, with the pilot phase set to commence in July and a complete service rollout targeted for October.
Major financial institutions continue adopting and testing Canton Network infrastructure
Despite receiving polarized feedback from cryptocurrency community members regarding its position within the broader blockchain landscape and questions about its degree of decentralization, the Canton Network maintains momentum in attracting major global financial institutions, banking organizations, and governmental bodies.
During March, Moody's, the financial rating agency, integrated its ratings data onto the network infrastructure, providing financial institutions with the capability to access and utilize this data directly in their blockchain-based workflows. This move established Moody's as the inaugural credit ratings agency to publish its information onchain, as stated in the company's official announcement.
The Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC), which operates as a financial clearinghouse providing settlement services across equities, commodities, and derivatives markets, revealed in April that it had begun experimental work with onchain government bonds utilizing the Network.
The JSCC's experimental work focuses on evaluating whether Japan's government bond ownership can be successfully transferred through blockchain technology and subsequently utilized as digital collateral in financial transactions.
Swiss cryptocurrency banking institution Amina revealed earlier in the current month that it would provide custody services and trading capabilities for Canton Coin, which serves as the utility token for the Canton Network ecosystem.
According to a statement released by the crypto banking institution, Amina represents the first financial institution operating under Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) regulatory oversight to publicly announce its support for the Canton token.