Crypto compliance platform Keyring raises $6M to unlock DeFi for institutions

London-based Keyring raised $6 million in venture capital funding to expand its on-chain compliance platform, which is targeted to institutional investors and protocols, the firm said Tuesday.

Gumi Cryptos Capital and Greenfield Capital led the seed investment round, with Motier Ventures, Kima Ventures and others also participating, the company said.

The investment comes as regulatory bodies of key global financial hubs are setting rules for companies on how to interact with digital assets, paving the way for more institutions to offer crypto services. Hong Kong's central bank is starting a regulatory sandbox for stablecoin issuers, while the U.K.'s financial watchdog has opened the door for offering crypto-focused exchange-traded notes (ETN) on regulated exchanges to sophisticated investors.

Keyring aims to help financial institutional investors to interact with decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms in a compliant way and restrict counterparty addresses, while also guarding privacy and sensitive data using zero-knowledge (ZK) proof tech, the company said.

Recently, the company facilitated a proof of concept trial with Laser Digital, the crypto arm of Japanese banking giant Nomura, by building a compliance wrapper on top of Circle's USDC (USDC) stablecoin.

"Trillions of dollars are unable to access the transparency, determinism, automation and settlement advantages of blockchain technologies for financial applications, due to variations in financial regulations,” said Miko Matsumura, managing partner at lead investor gumi Cryptos Capital. “Keyring provides these players with options to interact with verified and compliant counterparties, thus unlocking these benefits for the majority of the financial industry.”