Pantera Leads $10M Funding Round for StarkNet-Based Crypto Wallet Braavos

Crypto wallet Braavos has raised a $10 million round led by crypto-focused investment giant Pantera Capital. Other investors in the round included Road Capital, BH Digital, DCVC, Crypto.com, Matrixport, and StarkNet creator Starkware, which was valued at $8 billion during a $100 million funding round in May.

Private keys are the vital part of a crypto wallet that give the holder access to the assets stored within. Custodial wallets put the keys in the hands of a centralized company who promises security and offers an easy-to-use interface for users. Self-custody keeps the keys with the user, but the more complicated onboarding process can discourage new crypto users.

Founder earlier this year, Braavos aims to offer self-custody in a more user-friendly way. The Tel Aviv, Isreal-based firm has built its all-in-one crypto solution on StarkNet, a layer 2 blockchain addressing the scalability issues of Ethereum using a technology called zero-knowledge (zk) rollups that improve transaction speeds and fees.

Available as a web browser and mobile app for iOS and Android devices, Braavos combines the traditional asset storage and transfer options of a self-custody wallet with a built-in crypto exchange, access to decentralized applications and a Transaction Explainer that can help new crypto traders understand and review transactions.

“Crypto today is still too technical and complex for many users—requiring them to deal with seed phrases and security keys, suffer from low error tolerance, and educate themselves on non-trivial DeFi protocols. Our mission is to eliminate these high friction hurdles and provide users with the smooth experience they deserve, while preserving the core crypto values of decentralization and self-custody,” said Braavos CEO Motty Lavie in the press release, Lavie co-founded the startup with Abraham Makovetsky and Yoav Gaziel.

The near-term roadmap includes the launch of a “forgot password” feature that eliminates the reliance on complex seed phrases, multi-factor authentication for additional security and integrated decentralized finance (DeFi) capabilities to help users easily earn yield from within the wallet.

Read more: What Is Crypto Custody?