Franklin Templeton has become an investor in New York-based digital asset security platform provider Curv, in a move that signals further interest from the buy-side in the cryptocurrency space.
The US investment management firm participated in a $23 million Series A funding round in July with FinTech venture capitalist, Illuminate Financial Management, and existing investors Coinbase, Digital Currency Group, Team8, Digital Garage, and Commerzbank’s CommerzVentures.
Founded in 2018, Curv specialises in digital asset security for institutional investors with its multi-party computation (MPC) platform. Its software is cloud-based and removes the need for private keys and hot and cold crypto wallets.
“Curv’s cloud-based service and tech stack eliminate the concept of private keys through MPC, allowing for blockchain transaction signing in a secure, distributed way to protect against cyber breaches and insider collusion,” said Joe Boerio, EVP and chief risk and transformation officer at Franklin Templeton.
“We are excited to participate in Curv’s journey as it sets a new standard for digital asset security and scales its business across major financial institutions across the globe.”
Earlier this month, Curv completed a proof of concept with French investment bank BNP Paribas to transfer security tokens securely between market participants using the MPC platform for security.
The successful project served to demonstrate that tokenised securities can be transferred at speed, safely, and transparently on the blockchain, in what BNP Paribas described as a “significant step forward” in its strategy to deliver custody services for digital assets.
“We are seeing increased adoption of digital asset infrastructure by incumbent financial institutions, validated by Franklin Templeton’s participation in this round,” Alexander Ross, investment director at Illuminate Financial Management, commented on the recent investment in Curv. “At Illuminate Financial we have a deep and trusted network across many major markets participants and look forward to working with Curv to build on their existing momentum.”