Dfns, a crypto wallet startup, raised $13.5 million in seed funding to expand its services that help secure the digital assets of FinTech companies and banks by safeguarding cryptocurrency passwords, CoinDesk reported Wednesday (April 13).
The funding was led by White Star Capital with participation from Hashed, Susquehanna and the venture arms of crypto exchange Coinbase and Dutch bank ABN AMRO. The French startup splits a digital wallet’s password — known as a private key — so it no longer exists in a single place.
Related: Apple CEO Tim Cook Warns New Antitrust Laws Will Put Consumer Privacy at Risk
“Hence, the password to the crypto wallet doesn’t exist anymore in its full format,” Dfns said in an announcement, per the report. The startup said it plans to use the fresh infusion of capital to deploy its keyless wallets across all decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and expand its team.
According to reports, one of the major reasons people aren’t venturing into crypto is due to a perceived lack of security. One example adding to those fears is the recent hack on the Ronin network.
The $625 million exploit — among the biggest ever — was accomplished by faking withdrawals using hacked private keys.
Read more: In $625M Hack, a Bigger Crypto Security Problem Is on Display
Headquartered in Paris, France, Dfns was co-founded in 2020 by CEO Clarisse Hagège, Chief Technology Officer David Grigoryan, Houda Ferradi and Chief Growth Officer Christopher Fontaines.
The cloud-based startup is designed to provide digital asset security and offer safe, cloud-native custody as a service that secures future-ready technology. It strives to help financial institutions transition to digital assets.
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