Canton developer Digital Asset brings in Shinhan and SC Ventures as investors

Digital Asset has expanded its latest funding round to $365 million after securing an additional $10 million investment from Shinhan Financial Group and Standard Chartered’s SC Ventures, strengthening institutional backing for its Canton blockchain network.

According to an official announcement from Digital Asset, Shinhan Financial Group and SC Ventures joined the company’s previously announced oversubscribed funding round, increasing the investor base with two more global financial institutions focused on regulated digital finance.

A person with direct knowledge of the matter told The Block that the two investments added $10 million to the round, taking the total amount raised to $365 million from the previously disclosed $355 million. The source also said the investment was completed at the same $2 billion equity valuation used in the earlier financing.

Digital Asset disclosed the original $355 million raise last month, led by Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto fund, a16z crypto. Other participants included ABN Amro, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority through a wholly owned subsidiary, Apollo Funds, BNP Paribas, Citadel Securities, CME Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Hanwha Investment & Securities, HSBC, S&P Global and SBI Group.

The company said the latest additions widen the geographic reach of its investor base while bringing institutions that already have significant banking operations across Asia and other international markets.

“Blockchain adoption in financial markets will be driven by institutions that are ready to move beyond experimentation and into production,” said Yuval Rooz, co-founder and CEO of Digital Asset. 

“The addition of Shinhan Financial Group and Standard Chartered to our investor base brings further global reach, market expertise, and ecosystem connectivity at an important moment for both Digital Asset and Canton.”

Rooz added that the investment supports infrastructure that allows regulated financial institutions to operate on shared blockchain networks without giving up privacy, compliance or operational control.

New investors deepen Asian presence

Digital Asset said Shinhan Financial Group, South Korea’s largest banking group, is expected to contribute to discussions around institutional blockchain adoption in the country. The company said the relationship also complements its recently announced partnership with Hanwha.

SC Ventures, the innovation and investment arm of Standard Chartered, joins the funding round with experience in digital assets and financial technology. Digital Asset said the firm brings an institutional network and opportunities for collaboration across international markets.

Alex Manson, CEO of SC Ventures, said the company invests in technologies supporting the next generation of digital financial markets and views institutional-grade infrastructure as an important requirement for expanding digital asset adoption across regulated financial services.

“Our investment in Digital Asset’s Canton ecosystem reflects our conviction that trusted, institutional-grade market infrastructure will be fundamental to enabling scaling digital asset adoption across regulated financial services,” Manson said.

The latest investment also builds on earlier cooperation between the Canton ecosystem and Shinhan affiliates. 

As previously reported by crypto.news, Shinhan Asset Management and Shinhan Investment & Securities signed separate agreements with the Canton Foundation to study tokenized assets, South Korean regulations and international market access. The agreements positioned Canton closer to South Korea’s developing tokenized finance sector before its native token was listed on local exchange Bithumb.

Canton targets regulated financial markets

Digital Asset created the Canton Network as a public Layer 1 blockchain built for regulated financial institutions. According to the company, the network allows assets, applications and financial workflows to move onchain while preserving the privacy, compliance, interoperability and control required in regulated markets.

Rather than focusing on public blockchain activity alone, Canton has concentrated on financial institutions that need shared infrastructure without exposing sensitive transaction or settlement data.

The company said the new capital will be used to expand applications across the Canton ecosystem, deepen engagement with developers and financial institutions, and support continued network growth.

Digital Asset also said the funding arrives as financial institutions continue evaluating privacy-enabled blockchain infrastructure for tokenization, collateral mobility, settlement, payments and other regulated financial workflows.

Institutional interest around Canton has accelerated in recent months. As previously reported by crypto.news, Visa tested stablecoin settlement on the Canton Network using Brale’s SBC stablecoin to examine whether institutions could complete onchain settlements while keeping payment and settlement information private.

Canton has also continued expanding access to its native token. In June, South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, Bithumb, listed Canton Coin (CC) on its Korean won market, providing local investors with direct trading access. 

Around the same period, the network introduced its CIP-0119 protocol upgrade, which extended transfer preapprovals for 90 days and simplified onboarding by removing an earlier requirement for new users to already hold CC before receiving the token.

Institutional investment products tied to Canton have also started emerging. Earlier this year, Grayscale Investments filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a spot Canton Coin exchange-traded fund that would hold CC directly and provide investors exposure through traditional brokerage accounts without requiring them to manage the token themselves.