Canton blockchain developer Digital Asset raises $135 million in Goldman Sachs-backed round to accelerate adoption

Digital Asset, the primary developer behind the privacy-focused Canton Network, has raised $135 million in a strategic funding round led by DRW Venture Capital and Tradeweb Markets.

BNP Paribas, Circle Ventures, Citadel Securities, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, Goldman Sachs, IMC, Liberty City Ventures, Optiver, Paxos, Polychain Capital, QCP, Republic Digital, 7RIDGE, and Virtu Financial also participated in the round, according to a statement on Tuesday.

The fresh funding will be used to accelerate the adoption of institutional and DeFi use cases on its Layer 1 blockchain, enabling the expansion of real-world asset integrations across bonds, funds, commodities, and money market funds, Digital Asset said.

"This funding milestone validates the inevitability of what we envisioned years ago: a privacy-enabled public blockchain designed specifically for institutional adoption," Digital Asset co-founder and CEO Yuval Rooz said. "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."

Strengthening existing ties

The raise also strengthens ties with existing Canton Network participants — BNP Paribas, DRW, Goldman Sachs, Liberty City Ventures, QCP, and Tradeweb — who have contributed to its testing, governance, infrastructure, and app development, the firm added.

"Goldman Sachs remains committed to accelerating the adoption of digital assets and a blockchain-powered financial system," Goldman Sachs Global Head of Digital Assets Mathew McDermott said. "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."

Canton Network’s approach to on-chain privacy would enable institutions to configure confidentiality settings that meet their regulatory and operational requirements. It claims to have nearly 400 ecosystem participants on the network, including global leaders in both traditional and decentralized finance.