JPMorgan

Citadel

Canton

Virtu

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Digital Asset Holdings, the company behind the Canton Network (<a href="https://x.com/CantonNetwork" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@CantonNetwork</a>), is in advanced talks to raise about $300 million at a valuation of roughly $2 billion, with Andreessen Horowitz's crypto arm a16z crypto (<a href="https://x.com/a16zcrypto" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@a16zcrypto</a>) expected to lead the round. The deal would be the largest funding round in the firm's history and marks a fresh bet on institutional blockchain infrastructure from one of crypto's largest VCs.
<h2 id="span-span-strong-who-is-digital-asset-and-what-is-canton-strong-span-span">Who is Digital Asset and what is Canton?</h2>
Founded in 2014, Digital Asset (<a href="https://x.com/digitalasset" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@digitalasset</a>) built its reputation selling privacy-enabled blockchain technology to banks, exchanges, and clearinghouses. In 2023, the company launched the Canton Network, a&nbsp;<a href="https://bsc.news/post/layer-1-blockchains-ultimate-guide" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Layer 1 chain</a> built specifically for capital markets. Unlike a public chain such as&nbsp;<a href="https://bsc.news/post/what-is-ethereum-eth-how-it-works-explained" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Ethereum</a>, Canton lets financial institutions tokenize and settle assets while keeping transaction details visible only to the counterparties involved.
The network operates as a "network of networks" through what its developers call the Global Synchronizer, a decentralized layer that connects previously siloed systems without bridges or central intermediaries. Canton already supports bonds, Treasuries, money market funds, repos, mortgages, and other real-world assets (RWAs).
Live deployments and pilots include DTCC, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Börse, Broadridge, HKEX, and Euroclear. Canton's native utility token, Canton Coin ($CC), currently sits at a market cap of roughly $6 billion.
<h2 id="span-span-strong-why-is-a16z-writing-the-check-now-strong-span-span">Why is a16z writing the check now?</h2>
a16z crypto closed its fifth fund at $2.2 billion earlier this month, giving the firm fresh capital at a moment when tokenized treasuries, deposits, and money market products are pulling in flows from major names in finance. Canton fits squarely, since it offers compliance and privacy features that public chains have struggled to deliver natively.
Boutique investment bank FT Partners is advising on the round. Final terms could still shift before the deal closes in the coming weeks.
<h2 id="span-span-strong-how-does-this-compare-to-prior-rounds-strong-span-span">How does this compare to prior rounds?</h2>
If completed, the round would more than double Digital Asset's previous record raise. The funding history shows a steady acceleration over the past year:
<ul>
 <li>June 2025: $135 million strategic round led by DRW Venture Capital and Tradeweb Markets, with participation from Goldman Sachs, Citadel Securities, BNP Paribas, Circle Ventures, Polychain Capital, Optiver, Paxos, and Virtu Financial.</li>
 <li>December 2025: $50 million round from BNY Mellon, Nasdaq, S&amp;P Global, and iCapital.</li>
 <li>Pre-2025: Earlier rounds going back to 2016 brought in JPMorgan Chase and Citadel Securities, with total funding across the company's life estimated near $647 million by various trackers.</li>
</ul>
The momentum tracks with the broader RWA push. DTCC has set 2026 as a target for tokenizing US Treasuries on Canton, while HSBC has been piloting tokenized deposits on the network.
<h2 id="span-span-strong-what-have-executives-said-about-the-institutional-thesis-strong-span-span">What have executives said about the institutional thesis?</h2>
The June 2025 round produced quotes that still perfectly frame the company's pitch. Yuval Rooz (<a href="https://x.com/YuvalRooz" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@YuvalRooz</a>), co-founder and CEO of Digital Asset, called the raise validation of "a privacy-enabled public blockchain designed specifically for institutional adoption". Don Wilson (<a href="https://x.com/drwconvexity" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@drwconvexity</a>), founder of DRW, said Canton was on track to become "the de facto protocol for global collateral mobility" given trillions in real-world assets already touching the chain.
Neither executive has commented on the pending round, which could still change in size or structure before closing. At a $2 billion valuation, the round would further cement Canton's position as one of the most institutionally backed blockchain networks in the sector.&nbsp;
Sources:
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-10/drw-backed-digital-asset-raising-money-at-2-billion-valuation" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bloomberg</a> - Original report breaking the $300 million raise, $2 billion valuation, and a16z lead.</li>
 <li><a href="https://www.digitalasset.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Digital Asset</a> - Company background, founding history, and product overview.</li>
 <li><a href="https://www.canton.network/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Canton Network</a> - Network architecture, ecosystem participants, and governance structure.</li>
 <li><a href="https://blog.digitalasset.com/blog" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Digital Asset blog</a> - June 2025 strategic round announcement and executive quotes from Yuval Rooz and Don Wilson.</li>
 <li><a href="https://x.com/WuBlockchain/status/2053514600344346707" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Wu Blockchain on X</a> - Timely summary of the Bloomberg report with prior round context.</li>
</ul>

Canton Network Developer Raising $300M at $2B Valuation

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