Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said that Arc, Canton and Tempo, three blockchains focused on stablecoins and tokenization, have raised more than $1 billion in funding, highlighting the growing demand for privacy-focused crypto infrastructure from institutions.
Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) recently raised $222 million for Arc at a $3 billion valuation, while Digital Asset is reportedly raising $300 million for the Canton blockchain at a $2 billion valuation. Tempo, which is backed by Stripe and Paradigm, previously raised $500 million at a $5 billion valuation.
Hougan said in a blog post on Tuesday that the funding wave reflects three trends: clearer U.S. regulation, growing demand for private blockchain transactions and growing competition from corporate-backed crypto networks.
Blockchains have long faced trade-offs between speed, cost and security: Faster, cheaper networks tend to compromise on decentralization or resiliency, while more secure chains can be slower and more expensive to use.
This tension is particularly important for stablecoins and tokenization, as institutions need transactions to be fast and affordable, but also to be sufficiently private, compliant, and secure for real-world finance.
Hougan said privacy could become cryptocurrency’s “killer app” as businesses and consumers become less comfortable with fully transparent blockchains like Ethereum and Solana.
“If you are a business that broadcasts every transaction before it is completed, or a worker whose paycheck is visible to anyone with a block explorer, then this transparency is a bug, not a feature,” Hogan said.
He added that the fundraising boom also reflects growing confidence after Congress passed the Genius Act in 2025, providing a clearer regulatory basis for institutions to invest in crypto infrastructure.
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