Blythe Masters Blockchain Startup Raises $50 Million From 13 Financial Firms
Blockchain startup Digital Asset Holdings has announced that it has raised more than $50m in a new funding round.
:format(jpg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/TJN5TFV2ONENBDVUYABYFJU5QU.jpg)
/arc-photo-coindesk/arc2-prod/public/LXF2COBSKBCNHNRE3WTK2BZ7GE.png)
Digital Asset Holdings, the blockchain startup led by former JP Morgan executive Blythe Masters, has raised more than $50m in a new funding round.
The firm announced that it had completed a fundraise involving 13 financial institutions. The round drew support from ABN AMRO; Accenture; ASX Limited; BNP Paribas; Broadridge Financial Solutions; Citi; CME Ventures; Deutsche Börse Group; ICAP; J.P. Morgan; Santander InnoVentures; The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC); and The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
Digital Asset also said that it is expanding the size of its board of directors from four to nine, adding representatives from JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Börse Group and DTCC. The firm said that an additional undisclosed director would be named at a later date.
Masters said in a statement:
One of the firms contributing to the round – the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) – announced that it would receive a new post-trade settlement system developed by Digital Asset that will utilize a distributed ledger. According to Bloomberg, ASX contributed more than $10m to the round in exchange for a 5% stake.
Elmer Funke Kupper, the CEO of ASX, who has spoken in the past about the exchange’s exploration of distributed ledgers, said in a statement that he expects the technology to help his firm cut market costs. ASX had previously announced plans to overhaul its tech over the next few years.
"It could stimulate greater innovation by ASX and other providers of services to issuers, investors and intermediaries. ASX and Digital Asset will work together to design a solution and share the potential benefits with clients and regulators,” he said.
Image via Shutterstock
Disclosure
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, institutional digital assets exchange. Bullish group is majority owned by Block.one; both groups have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary, and an editorial committee, chaired by a former editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, is being formed to support journalistic integrity.
Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.