The depths of a the crypto winter has been warmed by Fireblocks announcing it has paid US$10 million (AUD$15.6 million) to acquire Melbourne-based start-up BlockFold. The acquisition has not been publicly announced by either company, but is being reported as complete.
Fireblocks is a well known providers offering crypto custody and infrastructure around storing and issuing digital assets, and they count financial institutions like BNP Paribas and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange amongst their clients.
BlockFold provides smart contract development, auditing and blockchain development to help the adoption of digital assets, including to financial services companies, building more capabilities for Fireblocks to deliver on what Fireblocks CEO, Michael Shaulov, said when he travelled to Australia for Blockchain Week:
When you think about the opportunity for the bank… if I’m a customer I have all my assets in the bank, if this extends to a digital wallet … it doesn’t matter what you are holding … banks can capture the range of Web3 value in their offering.
This acquisition comes close on the heels of the US Federal Reserve's paper on tokenisation, which is a further indication of the importance of Web 3, and those who are building the expertise to take advantage of the technology will be better equipped when the "if" becomes a "when", with Fireblocks clearly aiming to be ready for that time.
By Michael Bacina and Luke Misthos
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