Digital Asset Security Infrastructure Company Curv Closes $23 Million

By Dan Anderson ● Jul 6, 2020
  • Trusted digital asset security infrastructure company Curv announced that it has raised $23 million in Series A funding

Trusted digital asset security infrastructure company Curv announced that it has raised $23 million in Series A funding from CommerzVentures, Coinbase Ventures, Digital Currency Group, Team8, and Digital Garage Lab Fund. And Curv also officially made tX public — which is an elite group of cryptographers and engineers who use Curv’s keyless technology to develop flexible deployment models for both crypto-native and traditional financial institutions. And the funds will be used to continue Curv’s strong international growth, for new solutions within tX, product innovations, and hiring of top talent.

How does Curv work? Curv is driving traditional institutional and crypto-native demand for digital assets through its multi-party computation (MPC) security technology — which is a critical requirement to safely transfer, store, and manage any digital asset on any blockchain or DLT. And Curv is used by dozens of customers across the globe, including global investment firm Franklin Templeton – which utilizes Curv’s infrastructure to expand into the burgeoning digital asset market, and crypto-native institutions like eToro and Genesis.

A recent survey found that about 80% of institutional investors in the U.S. and Europe see the appeal of digital assets, including more than a third who have already invested in the market (source: Fidelity Digital Assets, 2020). And more investors have also taken on exposure to derivatives, according to the poll. The percentage of U.S. investors with exposure to cryptocurrency futures increased from 9% in 2019 to 22% in 2020.

Curv’s keyless MPC technology and flexible tech stack enable the company to swiftly deliver customized digital asset security solutions required by crypto-native and traditional financial institutions to build world-class cryptofinance products. And Curv’s highly scalable and adaptable platform can support hot, warm, and cold wallet configurations as well as all tokens and protocols regardless of the underlying blockchain or DLT.

In comparison to more expensive multisig wallets and smart contracts, Curv’s MPC technology simplifies ongoing management to reduce unnecessary network fees and hidden gas costs. And clients who switched from multi-signature to Curv’s MPC saved a combined 60% to 70% in transaction fees. And institutional Curv clients can also collectively save millions of dollars when creating thousands of digital wallets with Curv.

As regulators around the world begin to provide further guidance around digital assets, both Wall Street and global financial institutions are preparing themselves. Curv’s MPC technology plays a key role in this by providing institutions with greater flexibility in adapting to and complying with these changing regulatory requirements surrounding governance, auditing and capital requirements. And this required flexibility is achieved via deployment of Curv’s diverse signing mechanisms and offline storage schemas for key management.

Curv Air Gap is one of the solutions (an industry first) that allows institutions to supplement their online transactional wallet with an offline, air-gapped machine for signing transactions. And Curv Air Gap’s keyless cryptography also solves key security risks of cold wallets — like insider threats, human errors and physical damage — and frees institutions from having to make suboptimal tradeoffs between security and asset availability.

Key Quotes:

“Despite a challenging economic climate, we’re seeing strong growth among traditional financial institutions, who require our enterprise-grade security infrastructure, robust governance engine, and seamless integration with blockchain technology. Unlike other legacy solutions, we simultaneously deliver the protection, instant liquidity, and complete control required for all institutions to thrive in the digital asset economy.”

-Itay Malinger, CEO of Curv

“Few areas within fintech are as exciting as digital assets. Tokens and coins are increasingly finding their way into asset managers’ books. Curv is unlocking this market with their industry-leading technology and we are happy and excited to partner with Itay, Dan, and their impressive team.”

-Stefan Tirtey, Managing Partner at CommerzVentures