Binance's venture capital and accelerator is making a strategic investment in a Belgian secure digital asset wallet and services provider, NGRAVE, and will lead its series A round.
It was announced today that Binance Labs had backed NGRAVE's three-tier security suite, which combines touch-screen hardware wallets for creating and carrying crypto sans connectivity, along with a stainless steel encryption storage and blockchain management smartphone app.
NGRAVE's touch screen-operated digital currency wallet allows customers to create and back up crypto keys without ever switching on a computer, with on-screen shortcuts that immediately tie in popular digital tokens, from Bitcoin to Ethereum and emerging crypto contenders like Decentraland.
The device runs smoothly without web access meaning it's impossible for cyber attackers to break into, as they have no recourse to WiFi, Bluetooth or even near-field communications.
As a result, NGRAVE says it is certified to the benchmark standard, EAL7, for evaluating IT product security.
The deal suggests Binance hopes to quickly find new answers to prevent major hacks like last month's $570 million run on its affiliate blockchain, BNB, which led to the world's leading crypto exchange being taken offline.
More bad news came earlier in November with the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, in which Binance had invested. The filings for FTX's Chapter 11 bankruptcy show it went under while having almost $3.1 billion in debts outstanding to its 50 biggest creditors, media reports said today.
Binance, meanwhile, is accelerating its pursuit of the perpetrator of the $570 million hack. CEO Changpeng Zhao told CNBC previously a cross-chain bridge was used to acquire 2 million BNB tokens from the chain.
Commenting on the NGRAVE deal, Yi He, head of Binance Labs and a co-founder of Binance, said "self-custodial wallets" would benefit crypto security and remove some of the barriers to adoption.
"Self-custodial wallets are one of the most secure methods for storing digital assets and through our investment in NGRAVE, we are looking to continue backing innovative startups that enhance user security.”
Commenting for NGRAVE, co-founding CEO Ruben Merre said the team had encountered major security risks in conventional blockchain crypto encryption while designing their three-tier protection system.
"When looking into existing key creation processes, we realized there were serious security gaps," Merre said, "So we reinvented the way keys are generated and also overcame the limitations of today’s widely used mnemonic wallets."
"Our goal has always been simple: we want to make the world of crypto a safer place for everyone. Our mission is to empower people to safeguard their wealth, so they can live the life they want.
"As the world of crypto continues to evolve, we are excited to build together with and alongside Binance Labs to give us all that peace of mind.”
Would you like to write the first comment?
Login to post comments