Digital Asset Secures $135M to Accelerate Blockchain Integration in Global Financial Markets: A Leap Forward for Institutional-Grade Privacy and Compliance
Digital Asset, the firm behind the privacy-focused Canton Network, has successfully raised $135 million in a major fundraising round aimed at accelerating blockchain adoption in global financial markets. The strategic raising was spearheaded by DRW Venture Capital and Tradeweb Markets, drawing a wide range of participants from both traditional financial and cryptocurrency industries.
The funding will be used to scale the Canton Network, the only public, permissionless Layer-1 blockchain designed with configurable privacy and institutional-grade compliance. With nearly 400 organizations already active on the network, Canton is being positioned as the go-to infrastructure for tokenizing and trading real-world assets (RWAs) such as bonds, commodities, repos, mortgages, and insurance products.
Yuval Rooz, Co-Founder and CEO of Digital Asset, commented on the funding milestone: "This funding 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."
The Canton Network has seen rapid growth, underpinned by long-standing partnerships with major financial institutions. Many of the investors, such as DRW, Goldman Sachs, Tradeweb, and QCP, have already played significant roles in governance, infrastructure, or application development for the network through the Global Synchroniser Foundation.
Don Wilson, founder and CEO of DRW, emphasized the importance of this funding as a catalyst for long-term market transformation: "Today, 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, praised the practical utility of the platform: "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 raise reflects growing recognition that blockchain's potential in finance hinges on solving for privacy and regulatory compatibility, two areas where Canton's design offers a differentiated edge. Mathew McDermott, Global Head of Digital Assets at Goldman Sachs, noted: "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."
Moreover, other backers echoed the network's role as a bridge between DeFi innovation and traditional finance. Melvin Deng, CEO of QCP, added: "We believe digital assets should be a core part of institutional finance, and at QCP, that's our mission. Canton is creating the kind of infrastructure that makes that possible – compliant, interoperable, and trusted. Our investment signals belief not only in the technology but in the purpose behind it."
As blockchain continues to shift from experimentation to implementation
