- London-based crypto startup Argent has raised $40 million in new funding.
- Argent has created a crypto wallet that it hopes will improve the security of crypto transactions.
- Take a look at the 20-slide pitch deck Argent used to raise new funds below:
Argent, a London-based startup providing enhanced security for crypto wallets, has raised $40 million in Series B funding.
Created in 2017 by Belgian entrepreneurs, including the founders of brain-training app Peak, Argent offers its 500,000+ users a smart wallet where they can buy, store, and sell cryptocurrencies. The startup wants to offer users a product as secure and stable as bank accounts in
neobanks
like Monzo or Revolut.
“We have solved the problem of security in non-custodial crypto wallets, measuring usability against security to create a user-friendly product, now we focus on scalability,” Argent CEO Itamar Lesuisse told Insider. “We have spent time in transition building our Layer 2 product as we see Argent as a super application with thousands of use cases.”
Layer 2 refers to third-party integrations that can be built on top of an existing Layer 1 network, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum.
“Crypto is still very elitist and the technical knowledge needed is high,” Lesuisse added. “We have the foundation of what is possible to help real people access crypto around the world.”
Much of the company’s recent growth has come from overcoming the hurdle presented by the Ethereum network’s high transaction fees, which peaked at around $15 per transaction in gas last year. Lesuisse said that cryptocurrencies are often too expensive or insecure, which has prevented more widespread adoption.
The Series B funding round was led by Fabric Ventures and Metaplanet, along with existing investors including Sequoia-backed Paradigm, Index Ventures and Creandum, and strategic investors including Starkware, Jump and Animoca.
Argent will use the fresh funds to offer new products as it attempts to move beyond its DeFi roots to become a broader game with new areas such as virtual real estate, gaming, DAOs, and NFTs in the works.
The company wants to more than double its 25-person team by the end of 2022, particularly in engineering and product design roles. Similarly, the company has pointed to the Latin American market as a key growth center and will base its operations outside of Mexico.
Take a look at the Argent B Series launchpad below: