Fireblocks raises $550 Million in Series E funding to store and secure crypto and digital asset for institutions

Just three years ago, we wrote about Fireblocks after the crypto infrastructure startup emerged from stealth with $16 million in funding to securely transition digital assets to the blockchain. The blockchain startup has been through astonishingly rapid growth ever since. Now, over 800 major institutions, crypto, and digital asset businesses use Fireblocks software and APIs to custody, manage treasury operations, access DeFi, and manage their digital asset operations.

Today, Fireblocks announced it has raised $550 million in Series E funding to help every business become a crypto business. The round, which brings the company’s valuation to over $8 billion,  was co-led by D1 Capital Partners and Spark Capital. Other investors also participated in the round including General Atlantic, Index Ventures, Mammoth, CapitalG (Alphabet’s independent growth fund), Altimeter, Iconiq Strategic Partners, Canapi Ventures, and Parafi Growth.

Founded in 2018 by Michael Shaulov and Pavel Berengoltz, whose mobile security company Lacoon Mobile Security was acquired by Check Point, and Idan Ofrat, the VP R&D of C4 Security which was acquired by Elbit Systems, Fireblocks aims to eliminate the root cause of digital asset hacks and scams. Fireblocks’ platform protects digital assets in transit, focusing on protecting the transmission of customers’ digital assets between exchanges, counter brokers, hot wallets, and cold stores and keeping them readily available using patent-pending chip isolation security and MPC technology.

Adding to the support of existing investors such as Sequoia Capital, Coatue, Ribbit, Bank of New York Mellon, Paradigm, DRW Venture Capital, Tenaya Capital and SCB10x, Fireblocks has become the highest valued digital asset infrastructure provider to date. With $2 trillion in digital assets transferred, the Fireblocks’ platform now supports more than 20 blockchains and 1,000 cryptocurrencies, and is powering digital asset use cases across trading, gaming, NFTs, digital securities, and payments that will allow more businesses, web 2.0 leaders and enterprises, including all financial institutions, to participate in the digital asset economy.

The disruption of cryptocurrencies in the financial sector reached the point of no return and over the next decade, every business will become a web 3 business. According to a recent Gartner report, one-fifth of major organizations will utilize digital currencies by 2024, indicating that the adoption of crypto by large corporations will accelerate in 2022 and beyond. In the last year alone, consumers and companies alike have become increasingly interested in innovative payment alternatives, such as Airbnb, Microsoft, and AT&T. In fact, Visa’s new survey revealed that 25% of small businesses in nine countries plan to accept crypto payments in 2022.

In the last year, Fireblocks grew at an exponential pace from 150 to over 800 customers around the world, with institutions in the Asia Pacific and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa regions leading the way. The Fireblocks Network, which connects members to the crypto capital markets ecosystem and enables instant settlements, is used by customers such as Bank of New York Mellon, Revolut, Galaxy Digital, Crypto.com, BlockFi, Deribit, eToro, CoinShares, SwissBorg, 3AC, B2C2 and more. To date, Fireblocks customers have amassed $45 billion assets under custody on the platform. Additionally, with the launch of Aave Arc, Fireblocks has become the first to enable decentralized finance for institutional players.

“The adoption of cryptocurrencies across the financial and commercial sectors is going to accelerate in 2022, and Fireblocks’ mission is to be a strategic partner for these new market entrants,” said Fireblocks CEO, Michael Shaulov. “We are thrilled to be joined by the top growth investors. The new round of financing will accelerate our ability to support our clients globally, as well as heavily invest in innovation for DeFi, NFTs and payments, and allow new and established financial institutions to employ direct custody rather than relying on third parties, which will increase their competitive advantage.”

As the pioneer of MPC technology for digital assets, Fireblocks has established a secure multi-layer infrastructure that is at the heart of its platform. Along with these advancements, every business now has the capacity to accept digital assets and cryptocurrencies securely and conveniently, paving the way for all enterprises to become crypto businesses.

“Fireblocks has become a key driver of crypto market growth around the world, with an estimated 15% of daily crypto transaction volume secured through their infrastructure,” said Dan Sundheim, founder of D1, a New York-based investment firm. “This new injection of capital will further enable Fireblocks to onboard the next wave of businesses into the digital asset ecosystem.”