Digital Asset has closed a $355 million equity round for the Canton Network, with Andreessen Horowitz's A16z Crypto fund kicking in $100 million. The deal, announced Thursday, ranks among the largest single raises for a blockchain infrastructure project this year.
The A16z bet
A16z Crypto led the round, putting up more than a quarter of the total. The firm has been selective about infrastructure plays, and this is its biggest check for a network focused on institutional interoperability.
What Canton Network does
The Canton Network is a blockchain designed for asset tokenization and private data sharing among financial institutions. Digital Asset, the company that built it, has been pitching it as a way for banks and exchanges to move real-world assets on-chain without sacrificing privacy or regulatory compliance.
Abu Dhabi comes in
The round also drew participation from an entity in Abu Dhabi, though the source text cuts off on specifics. The emirate has been steadily growing its crypto footprint, and this investment adds to a string of deals flowing from the region.
Money and next moves
Digital Asset hasn't said exactly how it will deploy the $355 million, but the company has been expanding its engineering and business development teams. The Canton Network launched its mainnet late last year and has been onboarding asset managers and custodians since. With this cash, the company can likely accelerate those partnerships and push into new markets.
The closing comes at a moment when capital is still flowing into infrastructure plays, even as retail-facing tokens see volatility. Digital Asset now has one of the deepest pockets in the permissioned blockchain space.
