Digital Asset Holdings, the company behind the Canton Network blockchain, is preparing a new major funding round. According to Bloomberg, the company expects to raise about $300 million at a valuation of around $2 billion.
One of the key investors could be the a16z crypto fund from Andreessen Horowitz. Sources claim the deal could close in the coming weeks, though the final size of the round is still being discussed.
Canton Bets on Financial Infrastructure
Unlike most public blockchains, Canton Network is not targeting retail users, but rather the largest financial institutions.
The network is being developed as infrastructure for working with tokenized assets between banks, brokers, and institutional platforms. The main focus is on system compatibility and data privacy.
For traditional finance, this is critically important. Most banks are not ready to use fully public blockchains for bond operations, repo, or internal settlements.
That is why Canton was initially built as a permissioned network with support for private transactions between participants.
The Round Shows Growing Interest in Tokenization
The new round could become one of the largest infrastructure fundraisings in the sector in recent times.
The market is increasingly betting not only on speculative tokens but also on blockchain systems for real financial operations. The tokenization of bonds, money market funds, and interbank settlements is now growing especially rapidly.
Against this backdrop, Canton is gradually turning into one of the main institutional blockchain projects in the US.
For a16z, participating in the deal looks like a logical continuation of its strategy around digital finance infrastructure. A week earlier, the fund raised about $2.2 billion for a new cryptocurrency fund, bringing its total capital in the sector to nearly $10 billion.
Canton Is Already Used by Major Financial Companies
Digital Asset has long worked with the institutional segment. Among the company’s investors and partners are Nasdaq, Bank of New York Mellon, DRW, and Citadel Securities.
At the end of 2025, the company received about $50 million in strategic investments from a group of major financial players. At the same time, Canton is gradually beginning to demonstrate real use cases for the network.
The Network Has Already Tested Government Bond Operations
One of the most notable cases was a February test of cross-border intraday repo using tokenized UK government bonds.
The operation took place within the Canton Network and became the first such scenario for digital versions of UK gilts—a market worth about $2 trillion.
For the industry, this is an important milestone. Until recently, bond tokenization remained mostly experimental, but now the largest banks are starting to test real settlements through blockchain infrastructure.
Privacy Becomes a Key Advantage
The growing interest in Canton coincides with a broader trend in the crypto industry. More and more companies are starting to bet on private and permissioned blockchain systems instead of fully open networks.
This is especially true for large financial organizations that need not only speed and compatibility but also control over data.
Amid discussions of stablecoin and tokenized asset regulation, such networks could become one of the main growth points for the institutional segment.
The Institutional Market Is Changing the Crypto Industry
Just a few years ago, the main drivers of the market were exchanges, DeFi, and retail traders. Now the focus is gradually shifting toward infrastructure for banks, funds, and payment companies.
Against this backdrop, projects like Canton, Arc, and other corporate blockchain networks are starting to attract multibillion-dollar valuations even without a mass audience.
And judging by the activity of large funds, the institutional race for tokenized finance infrastructure is just beginning.
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