Key Takeaways
- • Digital Asset expanded its funding round to $365 million with strategic additions of Shinhan Financial Group and SC Ventures (Standard Chartered), bringing institutional financial sector backing to its Canton blockchain infrastructure platform.
- • The round was originally announced at $355 million led by Andreessen Horowitz's a16z crypto fund, with the expansion adding $10 million and maintaining a $2 billion equity valuation across all investors.
- • Shinhan Financial Group, South Korea's largest banking group, joins to support institutional adoption discussions in the region, complementing Digital Asset's existing partnership with Hanwha and expanding geographic reach.
- • SC Ventures brings Standard Chartered's institutional network, digital assets expertise, and potential synergies across global capital markets, reinforcing Canyon's positioning as privacy-enabled infrastructure for regulated finance.
- • The expanded investor participation underscores institutional demand for blockchain infrastructure that preserves privacy, compliance, and control requirements essential for regulated capital markets operations.
Summary
Digital Asset announced on July 21, 2026, that Shinhan Financial Group and SC Ventures by Standard Chartered have joined its previously announced $355 million funding round, expanding the total to $365 million. The additions represent a $10 million incremental investment and maintain the $2 billion equity valuation established in the initial round close in June. This expansion demonstrates continued institutional conviction in Digital Asset's Canton network as core infrastructure for bringing regulated financial workflows onchain.
The original $355 million round was led by Andreessen Horowitz's crypto-focused fund, a16z crypto, and included participation from leading institutions across traditional and decentralized finance. The entry of Shinhan Financial Group and SC Ventures signals growing institutional appetite for privacy-enabled blockchain infrastructure purpose-built for capital markets. Shinhan, South Korea's largest banking group, is positioned to support institutional adoption discussions in the region and complements Digital Asset's recently announced partnership with Hanwha, extending the company's footprint in Asian markets.
SC Ventures, Standard Chartered's venture investment arm, brings institutional banking expertise, a progressive digital assets ecosystem perspective, and a global institutional network with potential synergies across multiple markets. The participation of these two major financial institutions underscores the market recognition that Canton's infrastructure addresses critical requirements for regulated finance: privacy controls, compliance capabilities, operational control, and interoperability standards that traditional capital markets demand.
The fundraising expansion reflects Digital Asset's mission to establish Canton as foundational infrastructure enabling financial institutions to migrate assets, applications, and regulated workflows to blockchain environments while maintaining the governance and risk management protocols required by global regulators and institutional operators.
The original $355 million round was led by Andreessen Horowitz's crypto-focused fund, a16z crypto, and included participation from leading institutions across traditional and decentralized finance. The entry of Shinhan Financial Group and SC Ventures signals growing institutional appetite for privacy-enabled blockchain infrastructure purpose-built for capital markets. Shinhan, South Korea's largest banking group, is positioned to support institutional adoption discussions in the region and complements Digital Asset's recently announced partnership with Hanwha, extending the company's footprint in Asian markets.
SC Ventures, Standard Chartered's venture investment arm, brings institutional banking expertise, a progressive digital assets ecosystem perspective, and a global institutional network with potential synergies across multiple markets. The participation of these two major financial institutions underscores the market recognition that Canton's infrastructure addresses critical requirements for regulated finance: privacy controls, compliance capabilities, operational control, and interoperability standards that traditional capital markets demand.
The fundraising expansion reflects Digital Asset's mission to establish Canton as foundational infrastructure enabling financial institutions to migrate assets, applications, and regulated workflows to blockchain environments while maintaining the governance and risk management protocols required by global regulators and institutional operators.
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