Curv provides an institutional digital asset wallet, that uses multi party computation for security. So there isn’t a single point of failure by having keys stolen.
Although many of the investors in today’s $23 million funding are involved in cryptocurrencies, CommerzVentures signals the use of Curv’s wallet for other tokenized digital assets. CommerzVentures is the corporate venturing arm of Commerzbank, which has significant blockchain activities. These include participating in the Marco Polo trade finance platform, experimenting with tokenizing cash for post-trade stock settlement, and it’s live on the Deutsche Börse – HQLAX securities lending platform.
Curv announcement:
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Today Curv, the world’s most trusted digital asset security infrastructure, announced it raised $23M in Series A funding with investment from CommerzVentures, Coinbase Ventures, Digital Currency Group, Team8 and Digital Garage Lab Fund. The company also officially made public tX — an elite group of cryptographers and engineers who use Curv’s keyless technology to develop flexible deployment models for both crypto-native and traditional financial institutions. The funds will be used to continue Curv’s strong international growth, for new solutions inside tX, product innovations, and hiring of top talent.
Curv is driving traditional institutional and crypto-native demand for digital assets through its multi-party computation (MPC) security technology, a critical requirement to safely transfer, store and manage any digital asset on any blockchain or DLT. Curv is used by dozens of customers across the globe, including global investment firm Franklin Templeton, which leverages Curv’s infrastructure to expand into the burgeoning digital asset market, and crypto-native institutions such as eToro and Genesis.
A recent survey found that nearly 80% of institutional investors in the U.S. and Europe see the appeal of digital assets, including more than a third who have already invested in the market (source: Fidelity Digital Assets, 2020). More investors have also taken on exposure to derivatives, according to the poll. The percentage of U.S. investors with exposure to cryptocurrency futures increased from 9 percent in 2019 to 22 percent in 2020.
“Despite a challenging economic climate, we’re seeing strong growth among traditional financial institutions, who require our enterprise-grade security infrastructure, robust governance engine and seamless integration with blockchain technology,” said Itay Malinger, CEO of Curv. “Unlike other legacy solutions, we simultaneously deliver the protection, instant liquidity and complete control required for all institutions to thrive in the digital asset economy.”
Curv’s keyless MPC technology and flexible tech stack enable the company to swiftly deliver customized digital asset security solutions required by crypto-native and traditional financial institutions to build world-class cryptofinance products. Curv’s highly scalable and adaptable platform can support hot, warm and cold wallet configurations as well as all tokens and protocols regardless of the underlying blockchain or DLT.
“Few areas within fintech are as exciting as digital assets. Tokens and coins are increasingly finding their way into asset managers’ books. Curv is unlocking this market with their industry-leading technology and we are happy and excited to partner with Itay, Dan and their impressive team,” said Stefan Tirtey, Managing Partner at CommerzVentures.
Saving Costs
In comparison to more expensive multisig wallets and smart contracts, Curv’s MPC technology simplifies ongoing management to reduce unnecessary network fees and hidden gas costs. Clients who switched from multi-signature to Curv’s MPC saved a combined 60–70 percent in transaction fees. Institutional Curv clients can also collectively save millions of dollars when creating thousands of digital wallets with Curv.
Adapting to Regulations
As regulators around the world begin to provide further guidance around digital assets, both Wall Street and global financial institutions are preparing themselves. Curv’s MPC technology plays a key role in this by providing institutions with greater flexibility in adapting to and complying with these changing regulatory requirements surrounding governance, auditing and capital requirements. This required flexibility is achieved via deployment of Curv’s diverse signing mechanisms and offline storage schemas for key management. Curv Air Gap is one such solution, an industry first, that allows institutions to supplement their online transactional wallet with an offline, air-gapped machine for signing transactions. Curv Air Gap’s keyless cryptography also solves key security risks of cold wallets — like insider threats, human errors and physical damage — and frees institutions from having to make suboptimal tradeoffs between security and asset availability.
About Curv
Curv is the world’s most trusted digital asset security infrastructure that is delivered as a fully scalable, enterprise-grade and compliant cloud service. Curv’s multi-party computation (MPC) technology simultaneously provides institutions the protection, instant availability, and total autonomy over digital assets required to thrive in the digital economy. The company is the only cloud-based, MPC wallet provider for institutional digital assets and the first of its kind to achieve SOC2 Type II Certification. Curv also provides additional peace of mind by insuring up to $50M of digital assets backed by Munich Re, the only Internet-connected crime insurance policy to date and one of the largest policies in the market. Curv is swiftly being adopted by leading exchanges, custodians, OTC desks, brokers, traditional financial institutions and digital asset managers. Founded in 2018, Curv is headquartered in New York with R&D offices in Tel-Aviv, Israel. For more information, visit https://www.curv.co/.
