Digital Asset Raises $135 Million to Scale Institutional Blockchain Adoption

Digital Asset has secured $135 million in strategic funding to accelerate institutional adoption of its Canton Network, marking a significant convergence between traditional finance and blockchain technology.

The round was led by trading firm DRW and electronic trading platform Tradeweb Markets, with participation from major financial institutions including Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, Citadel Securities, and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), according to an announcement this week. Crypto-native investors Circle Ventures and Polychain Capital also joined the funding

Canton Network positions itself as the only public, permissionless Layer-1 blockchain offering configurable privacy and institutional-grade compliance. The platform has already integrated hundreds of billions in real-world assets across multiple categories, including bonds, money market funds, commodities, and mortgages.

The funding will expand integration of real-world assets onto the blockchain while deepening relationships with existing network participants. Nearly 400 ecosystem participants currently operate on Canton Network, spanning both traditional and decentralized finance sectors.

"This funding milestone validates the inevitability of what we envisioned years ago: a privacy-enabled public blockchain designed specifically for institutional adoption," Yuval Rooz, co-founder and CEO of Digital Asset, said in a statement . "Canton is already actively supporting numerous asset classes–from bonds to alternative funds–and this raise will accelerate onboarding even more real-world assets."

The investment highlights Canton's unique approach to blockchain privacy, allowing institutions to customize privacy settings according to their specific regulatory and business requirements. This configurable privacy model addresses a key barrier to institutional blockchain adoption by balancing transparency with financial confidentiality needs, Digital Asset said.

Don Wilson, founder and CEO of DRW, emphasized the significance of the moment: "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."

Founded in 2014, Digital Asset created Canton Network as an open-source platform governed by the Global Synchronizer Foundation. The network aims to enable real-time settlement and synchronization across multiple asset classes on shared infrastructure.