Digital Asset raises $355 million to scale Canton blockchain for Wall

Digital Asset announced a $355 million financing led by Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto fund, valuing the company at roughly $2 billion and earmarking the capital to expand its Canton Network blockchain for financial institutions [1]. The round includes a mix of traditional finance firms and crypto investors, reflecting growing Wall Street interest in permissioned blockchain infrastructure.

Key takeaways

• The funding round was led by a16z crypto, which contributed $100 million [1].
• Investors include Citadel Securities, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, BNP Paribas, Optiver and others [1].
• Canton Network is designed for regulated finance, enabling private, tokenized issuance and settlement of traditional securities [1].
• The platform has already been piloted by firms such as Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon and Deutsche Börse [1].
• Digital Asset plans to use the proceeds for ecosystem expansion, partnerships and potential acquisitions [2].

Scaling Canton for regulated finance

Digital Asset’s Canton Network is a layer‑1 blockchain that combines privacy controls with smart‑contract functionality, targeting banks, asset managers and exchanges that need to keep transaction data confidential while still sharing settlement information across participants [2]. The company says Canton has already supported $6 trillion in tokenized issuance, a claim that underscores its focus on real‑world assets rather than purely speculative crypto use cases [2].

The new capital will fund “strategic partnerships, acquisitions and ecosystem expansion,” according to the company’s press release, and will deepen engagement with developers and financial institutions seeking to move mission‑critical infrastructure on‑chain faster [1][3]. Yuval Rooz, co‑founder and CEO, emphasized that Canton was built for regulated finance from day one, ensuring that no third party can alter an issuer’s books without consent—a prerequisite for capital‑market participants considering blockchain adoption [1].

Building the next phase of on‑chain capital markets

Beyond the financing, Digital Asset announced a partnership with a16z crypto that will give the firm access to the venture fund’s expertise in company building, policy and research as Canton scales [3]. The round adds to a multi‑year funding trajectory that includes $135 million raised in 2025 from a consortium of banks and trading firms, and a $50 million strategic round in late 2025 that featured Nasdaq and BNY Mellon [1].

The company’s broader investor base now spans traditional banks, market makers, and crypto‑focused venture firms such as Coinbase Ventures and Polychain, illustrating a convergence of finance sectors around blockchain infrastructure [2][3]. While the press releases highlight the network’s privacy‑enabled design, they do not disclose specific timelines for new product launches or the exact allocation of the $355 million beyond the stated strategic goals.