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