London-based Argent, a smart wallet for controlling digital assets and identity, has raised a $12 million Series A led by Paradigm, a Sequoia Capital-backed fund making its first investment in Europe. Existing investors Index Ventures, Creandum and firstminute Capital also participated in the round.
Awarded "Hottest Blockchain Startup" at the 2019 Europas, the Argent smart wallet works with cryptocurrencies and decentralised applications — for now its focused on Ethereum — and functions like a banking app.
“Crypto's unfamiliar to many so we've cut out all the complexity and built a mobile wallet as simple as Monzo or Revolut, if not easier,” claims co-founder and CEO Itamar Lesuisse. “Argent lets anyone, anywhere access new economic opportunities, exchange value as easily as an email, and enjoy digital services without sacrificing their data.”
Lesuisse and fellow co-founder Gerald Goldstein are not new to entrepreneurship or success, having previously founded Peak, a brain training app that reached 60 million downloads and won “Best App” in the Apple Store in 2014.
The third Argent co-founder is Julien Niset, who holds a PhD in quantum information and founded quantum security startup SQR Technologies. All three entrepreneurs hail from Belgium.
Argent claims the net worth of user wallets is over several million US dollars and has grown 580 percent in the last six months. Users have been invite-only thus far; a launch to the general public is planned for April 2020.
Founded in 2017, the blockchain startup is headquartered in London but its team is distributed across Europe. With the new funding, the company will make more technical hires across the continent. A total of $16 million has been raised to date.
Would you like to write the first comment?
Login to post comments