Securrency, Inc., a leading developer of institutional-grade blockchain-based financial and regulatory technology, today announced Series A funding of $17.65 million from a leading financial services company, and venture firms focused on financial market infrastructure technology. WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (Nasdaq: WETF) led the round as a strategic investor. Other participants in the round include the Abu Dhabi Investment Office through its Ventures Fund, Japanese financial services giant, Monex Group, Inc., and venture capital firms RRE Ventures ,Strawberry Creek Ventures, and Panthera Capital Investments, a venture arm of Fujairah Holding.

Securrency is a pioneer of blockchain-based financial markets infrastructure technology centered on its unique identity and compliance framework to support global digital securities transactions. Securrency’s proprietary, patent-pending Compliance Aware Token™ technology provides multi-jurisdictional compliance and unprecedented convenience to financial services providers and market participants to facilitate the issuance, trading, and servicing of digital securities and other digital assets. Securrency’s technology is blockchain-agnostic and its compliance and policy-enforcement tools support ledger-to-ledger transactions across multiple blockchains.

“Securrency recognized early on that global liquidity for digital securities will result from validated identity and multi-jurisdictional compliance, and that a convenient framework for universal interoperability would unlock the power of blockchain technology in the financial markets,” said Dan Doney, CEO of Securrency. “We have been building over the past several years a unique framework that is not restricted to one blockchain or platform in order to allow for the remarkable innovations across this space to come together in a way that encourages the major institutions, market makers, and other market players to swiftly and confidently transition into this new technological paradigm.”

For its Series A round, Securrency focused on leaders in the financial markets, particularly global issuers of highly-liquid securities and proven market innovators. “WisdomTree has a well-deserved reputation as an innovator within financial services, and we are thrilled to have them as our lead investor,” continued Doney. “WisdomTree has truly exciting applications for our technology. Our partnership with WisdomTree will allow us to demonstrate unique features of our technology, specifically our Compliance Aware Token framework and multi-ledger capabilities.”

Jonathan Steinberg, WisdomTree Founder and CEO, said, “Our investment in Securrency is the result of a multi-year review of blockchain technology and the associated landscape. In our review, we found instances of unnecessary applications of the technology and poor compliance with existing regulations; however, there are numerous elements of blockchain technology that, when correctly applied, will bring benefits to investors. Using the technology, we believe we have identified areas for exciting innovation within the ETF ecosystem and in financial services more broadly, all with a focus on meeting the highest standards of regulation.”

Steinberg continued, “Securrency’s leadership team has a unique combination of U.S. national security experience, technical expertise and financial services knowledge. We are confident that these attributes, together with its focus on compliance, will empower Securrency to be the leading technology firm in the disruption of financial services infrastructure through the industry’s adoption of blockchain technology. Identity, security and compliance will be critical features in the evolution of financial services. Our collaboration will demonstrate these features, and we are excited to pursue this endeavor with Securrency.”

Oki Matsumoto, Chairman and CEO of Monex Group, added, “Securrency has developed powerful technology that is sure to have an impact across numerous areas in financial services. Consistent with our focus on the future of finance and challenging traditional frameworks, we find the vision of the Securrency team compelling. We are excited to be an investor in and a supporter of the company.”

Headquartered in the United States, Securrency has been substantially growing its operations in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) in the United Arab Emirates. The investment in this round made by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office through its Ventures Fund, anticipates the role Securrency will play in contributing to Abu Dhabi’s global position as an innovative International Financial Centre. The centre is well supported by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM with a world-class financial regulation regime.

Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General at the Abu Dhabi Investment Office said, “We are committed to supporting innovation-led businesses to establish and grow in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is a global beacon for technology, innovation and talent, and our tech ecosystem is enabling companies to develop and commercialise world-class innovation.”

Securrency plans to use its Series A funding to advance its software and platform development, integrate with key strategic partners and other customers and build out its operational structure.