Software March 16, 2021

Powering the Next Generation of Financial Products: Our Investment in Fireblocks

Fireblocks blog image 2021 03 16 213637

Digital assets continue to escape the fringe and enter the mainstream but remain vulnerable to cyberattacks. Over $15 billion worth of cryptocurrencies have been stolen from hacking incidents since 2011, highlighting a clear market need for a better security solution. Security remains a mission-critical prerequisite for many and is a key barrier to adoption, especially among large and traditional institutions. Better digital asset security and infrastructure can broaden adoption, enable new use cases, and ultimately satisfy pent-up demand to increase the size of the asset class.

Fireblocks’ Solution

Founded in 2018, Fireblocks is an end-to-end platform to store, transfer, and issue digital assets. Using best-in-class MPC-CMP cryptography, Fireblocks provides institutional-grade custody technology for digital assets, facilitating almost instantaneous transfer without compromising security. Fireblocks has also built a network of authenticated counterparties for seamless asset transfer and liquidity, driving strong network effects for all customers and stakeholders. These customers include some of the most prolific traders, exchanges, and institutions who serve millions of consumers, underscoring Fireblocks’ enterprise-grade solution.

While digital asset volume is largely concentrated around Bitcoin and Ethereum today, we believe many existing securities markets will become tokenized over time. Tokenization enables new product offerings and faster, more secure payment experiences for consumers, expanding the size and scope of the digital asset economy. Fireblocks can extend its custody and settlement capabilities to any tokenized asset and serve as the backbone for all digital assets.

Stripes Co-leads Fireblocks’ $133M Series C Financing

We are excited to invest in Fireblocks because we believe its unwavering focus on security, a key blocker to increased digital asset adoption, will enable customers of all sizes and levels of sophistication to engage with digital assets safely. Fireblocks began serving crypto-native investment managers and exchanges and has since expanded its customer base to include some of the largest traditional financial institutions and fintech companies in the world. We spoke to nearly 20 institutions, all of whom validated the acute need for better “hot” wallet security to drive increased digital asset adoption and attested to the quality of the Fireblocks product. We are excited to see Fireblocks continue to leverage its best-in-class platform to maintain its crypto dominance and support more traditional institutions as they embrace digital assets for the first time.

We were also instantly impressed with Founder and CEO Michael Shaulov’s deep security roots, stellar reputation in the industry, and ambitious vision. Prior to founding Fireblocks, Michael sold his mobile security startup to Checkpoint, where he was the Head of Mobile and Cloud Security Products.

We are thrilled to welcome Michael and Fireblocks to the Stripes family and help power the infrastructure for the burgeoning digital asset economy.


Fireblocks blog image 2021 03 16 213637