Cobo, a cryptocurrency asset management, has raised $40 million to develop DeFi-as-a-Service

• Despite China’s blanket prohibition and Korea’s governmental assault on exchanges, Asia remains a hotspot for cryptocurrency investors
• DaaS, according to Cobo, provides institutions with more secure access to DeFi smart contracts without requiring them to grasp market intricacies
• Cryptocurrencies are viewed as an investable asset class in more established Asian countries, but remittance payments are a significant driving force behind development in emerging markets like Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines

Despite China’s blanket prohibition and Korea’s governmental assault on exchanges, Asia remains a hotspot for cryptocurrency investors. Cobo, a digital asset management, has raised $40 million to expand institutional routes to decentralized finance products, demonstrating that Asia-Pacific investors are increasingly seeking secure access to the DeFi market. Cobo will utilize the Series B funding to build the first DeFi-as-a-service, or DaaS, infrastructure, which will allow institutions and their clients to access decentralized financial products in a compliant manner, according to the firm. The funds will be used to get regulatory permits and guarantee that anti-money laundering rules are followed across the board.

DaaS, according to Cobo, provides institutions with more secure access to DeFi smart contracts without requiring them to grasp market intricacies. DST Global, A&T Capital, and IMO Ventures led the investment round, which follows Cobo’s successful Series A fundraising round, which raised $13 million in October 2018. The Singapore-based firm began operations in 2017 as a blockchain infrastructure provider. Cobo’s founder and CEO, Discus Fish, stated that the new DaaS infrastructure is being created at a time when demand for crypto assets is increasing across Asia. Despite China’s blanket prohibition on cryptocurrency trading and mining, Asia has many thriving crypto marketplaces, including Japan, Korea, and, most recently, Vietnam. 

Cryptocurrencies are viewed as an investable asset class in more established Asian countries, but remittance payments are a significant driving force behind development in emerging markets like Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines. In the Asia-Pacific area, Cobo primarily serves institutional investors. Over 300 institutional investors are already among its customers, illustrating the region’s smart-money appetite for crypto assets. The fear that Chinese property developer Evergrande was on the verge of default has caused significant volatility in crypto and conventional assets in recent days. On Wednesday, it was announced that the indebted developer had “resolved” a planned payment issue, alleviating some of the selling pressure on risk assets like equities and cryptocurrencies.