Kiln raises $17 million in funding to expand its cryptocurrency staking platform
Posted: January 18, 2024 11:23 AM Updated: January 18, 2024 11:24 AM
Correction and fact check date: January 18, 2024, 11:23 AM
briefly
Kiln has raised $17 million in funding to advance product development and support global expansion plans.
Kiln, an institutional cryptocurrency staking platform, announced that it has closed a $17 million funding round led by 1kx with participation from Crypto.com, IOSG, Wintermute Ventures, KXVC, and LBank. Existing investors including Kraken Ventures, GSR and Avon Ventures also contributed to the round.
The newly raised capital will be used for Kiln’s global expansion initiatives, with a particular focus on growth of its Asia Pacific (APAC) business following the opening of the platform’s regional headquarters in Singapore in the first quarter. The new funding round brings Kiln’s total funding to $35 million.
The allocated funds will also be utilized to advance product development, particularly by incorporating additional reward mechanisms in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. The company is currently in the process of developing DeFi products that will enable integrated customers, including wallets, exchanges, and custodians, to take advantage of opportunities related to stablecoin rewards.
“Our mission is to democratize value creation in the digital asset ecosystem, giving millions of users easy access to rewards through our platform. We have an exciting product lineup and future expansion plans, including the establishment of a Singapore office,” said Laszlo Szabo, Co-Founder and CEO of Kiln.
Kiln’s staking platform provides institutional clients with the ability to stake assets and extend white label solutions to their clients. Although the platform supports multiple proof-of-stake blockchains, the majority of Kiln’s equity assets, valued at over $3.1 billion, are primarily on the Ethereum blockchain.
“Financial institutions will become a dominant force in cryptocurrency, leveraging the enormous market opportunity on behalf of their customers,” said Christopher Heymann, founding partner at 1kx.
Kiln aims to improve the cryptocurrency staking experience.
Kiln applies specialized smart contracts to give cryptocurrency users the power to stake smaller amounts and introduces flexibility into the staking process. The platform allows for stake pooling, allowing users to collectively meet the minimum requirement of 32 ETH, equivalent to $81,000. This approach provides an alternative to similar flexible staking options offered by liquid staking protocols such as Lido and Rocket Pool.
The platform has seen a remarkable surge in equity assets under management, increasing more than fivefold in 2023, totaling $4.2 billion. This expansion is due to the platform’s integration with various custody solutions, wallets and exchanges throughout the previous year. In 2023, Kiln will work with Ledger Live and Crypto.com to facilitate similar integrations. Currently, Kiln is the largest operator of Ethereum validator nodes, representing 4% of the Ethereum network.
In previous investment rounds, Kiln raised $17.6 million in funding from Illuminate Financial, LeadBlock Partners, Sparkle Ventures, Alven, and Blue Yard Capital, among others.
Recently, Coinbase Cloud integrated Kiln’s on-chain staking protocol into its service, allowing users to participate in native ETH staking with a minimum amount of less than 32 ETH. Traditionally, participating in native ETH staking requires a minimum of 32 ETH. Such a high entry threshold represents a serious obstacle for potential participants in the staking process.
Kiln’s latest round of funding will transform its platform by enhancing its service offering, facilitating expansion into the South Pacific region and ultimately enabling it to attract more institutional investors.
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Alisa is a reporter for Metaverse Post. She focuses on everything related to investing, AI, metaverse, and Web3. Alisa holds a degree in Art Business and her expertise lies in the fields of art and technology. She developed a passion for journalism through her work with VCs, notable cryptocurrency projects, and science writing. You can contact us at (email protected).
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alice davidson
Alisa is a reporter for Metaverse Post. She focuses on everything related to investing, AI, metaverse, and Web3. Alisa holds a degree in Art Business and her expertise lies in the fields of art and technology. She developed a passion for journalism through her work with VCs, notable cryptocurrency projects, and science writing. You can contact us at (email protected).
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