Kinto receives $20M funding from Brevan Howard Digital

Kinto receives $20M funding from Brevan Howard Digital: Traditional firms entering DeFi space?

This funding provided to Kinto has made Brevan Howard Digital one of those first traditional firms trusting the potential of Defi ecosystems.

Published by

Sneha Agrawal

February 18, 2025

Kinto receives $20M funding from Brevan Howard Digital: Traditional firms entering DeFi space?

Kinto, the on-chain financial platform built atop Ethereum, received on Monday a whooping 20 million dollars funding by Brevan Howard Digital, the digital assets division of the prominent global alternative investment management firm, Brevan Howard.
This funding has made Brevan Howard Digital one of the those pioneering traditional firms trusting the potential of Ethereum L2’s on-chain network of Kinto and the ultimate Defi ecosystems.

The funding also becomes symbolic of the growing engagement of traditional financial giants like Brevan Howard, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan among others, with the evolving DeFi ecosystems of Web3.

Receiving funding from Kuber Capital Crypto as well last year, Kinto is built using OP stack (on which Coinbase’s Base is relied upon) and derives its technology from Optimism, the second biggest layer-2 network.

To develop on-chain mining program

As the only L2 network with native Know your Customer (KYC) and (AML) at the blockchain level, Kinto is working towards the mission of bridging traditional finance with decentralized finance (DeFi). Its native KYC feature eliminates the risk of anonymous exploits and frauds associated with DeFI space. Presenting itself as the modular exchange, Kito with its non-custodial and insured wallet provides users an access to a wide range of DeFi opportunities with maximum security.

The received funding will be used by Kinto to support its on-chain mining program. Kinto’s mining program launched in June 2024, aims to distribute upto 5 million KINTO tokens (representing 33% of the total token supply) over the duration of 10 years.

Rewarded after users deposit their assets into Kinto’s ecosystem, the rewards are set to decrease over time to drive liquidity and long-engagement with its platform. Now by integrating these funds into the mining program, Kinto aims to attract more institutional participants to foster a robust decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem built in accordance with institutional compliance and security standards.

We are happy to share that @BHDigitalAssets deployed $20m in assets on Kinto, participating in our mining program.

Read more in the press release: https://t.co/MkRgmoMOD7

— Kinto (@KintoXYZ) February 17, 2025

Traditional firms entering DeFi space

The received funding also aligns with the growing narrative of traditional financial firms engaging in DeFi ecosystems.

Traditional financial institutions are increasingly exploring decentralized finance (DeFi) to leverage blockchain technology while maintaining regulatory compliance. Firms like Brevan Howard Digital and Goldman Sachs have invested in DeFi startups, liquidity pools, and on-chain platforms such as above-mentioned Kinto. Large asset managers and banks are also acquiring DeFi-focused companies or launching joint ventures.

In a move towards supporting tokenized Securities and Bonds, JPMorgan, BlackRock, and HSBC have issued blockchain-based bonds and mutual funds to facilitate instant settlement and reduce costs. The traditional insitutions such as Banks are further developing KYC-compliant liquidity pools, such as Aave Arc, which will allow regulated institutions to participate in DeFi lending/borrowing. Furthermore, Banks like Standard Chartered, BNY Mellon, and Fidelity are also providing custody services for digital assets.

Using the efficiency of Blockchain-Powered Settlement Networks, JPMorgan is using Onyx blockchain is for cross-border transactions. Thus, establishing the trend that is accelerating with more institutions seeking to benefit from DeFi’s automation, cost savings, and new revenue models.

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About Author

With over four years of experience in covering and tracking the financial markets, Sneha Agrawal is a dedicated Crypto Journalist and Editor with passion for researching and writing the crypto pieces. She is currently leading the Brandtalk section, here at CoinGape. She likes to keep track of political, legal and financial happenings all around the world - without which she deems her day incomplete. Apart from her Journalistic endeavours, she is a solo traveler, museum goer, and a keen reader of books.