Curv, the leader in digital asset security, today announced that global investment firm Franklin Templeton and fintech VC Illuminate Financial Management joined existing investors as part of its Series A funding.
In July 2020, Curv’s Series A round included a cohort of investors spanning CommerzVentures, Coinbase, Digital Currency Group, Team8 and Digital Garage.
Curv is driving traditional institutional and crypto native demand for digital assets through its multi-party computation (MPC) security technology, a critical requirement to safely transfer, store and manage any digital asset on any blockchain or DLT. Their solution is used by dozens of institutions across the globe, including Franklin Templeton, which plans to leverage Curv’s infrastructure to expand into the burgeoning digital asset market.
The digital asset security industry is at a crossroads. Institutions can choose to use legacy solutions, which stifle their ability to adopt all digital assets, introduce increased cost pressures and merely limit security threats or they can adopt Curv’s keyless approach to remove all single points of failure while simultaneously delivering instant availability and total autonomy over digital assets.
"Curv’s cloud-based service and tech stack eliminates the concept of private keys through multi-party computation (MPC), allowing for blockchain transaction signing in a secure, distributed way to protect against cyber breaches and insider collusion," said Joe Boerio, EVP, Chief Risk & Transformation Officer, Franklin Templeton. “We are excited to participate in Curv’s journey as it sets a new standard for digital asset security and scales its business across major financial institutions across the globe.”
The recent announcement from the US Office of Comptroller of Currency (OCC) that nationally chartered banks could now custody crypto was a watershed moment for those stateside. In December 2019, the BaFin regulatory body made a similar announcement which motivated dozens of German institutions to apply for a digital asset custody license. With regulators worldwide now creating a clearer path for financial crypto services, traditional financial institutions are choosing to work with Curv, an experienced and trusted technology partner, to invent and launch their cutting-edge crypto finance products and services. Curv’s full stack solution provides traditional players with the expertise needed to compete against crypto incumbents.
“We are seeing increased adoption of digital asset infrastructure by incumbent financial institutions, validated by Franklin Templeton’s participation in this round,” says Alexander Ross, Investment Director at Illuminate. “At Illuminate Financial we have a deep and trusted network across many major markets participants and look forward to working with Curv to build on their existing momentum.”
“Our newest investors approached us immediately after the Series A closing and expressed interest in joining the round,” said Itay Malinger, Curv Co-founder and CEO. “The addition of Franklin Templeton is a barometer of the traditional industry’s shift into digital assets and a broader desire to bring public blockchain-based offerings to market. Curv provides these institutions with the enterprise-grade infrastructure they require to securely deploy these solutions.”