Crypto start-up Argent announces $40 million raise

• The London-based firm seeks to make it easier for users to manage its non-custodial wallet offering
• Part of the funds will be invested in initiatives around DeFi and Web 3
• One of the co-founders noted that the firm intends to address the scalability issue of its wallet

Argent, the firm behind the eponymous smart wallet, on Thursday disclosed it had completed a Series B funding round that saw it raise $40 million. Two VC firms Fabric Ventures and Metaplanet led the fundraising, which also had participation from Index Ventures, Creandum and Paradigm.

Animoca Brands, Jump Crypto, and Starkware (creator of rival Ethereum-scaling solution StarkNet) featured in strategic capacities. Worth noting, StarkNet is the host of Argent’s wallet – Argent X. This explains the strategic collaboration.

Expansion and development goals

The firm will use a fraction of the funds to expand its geographic reach and advance its product. Argent’s non-custodial crypto wallet is one of the standout options in the space. The wallet allows users to safely hold and securely transfer their crypto assets without using the conventional approach that requires them to remember their seed phrase.  

Top on Argent’s new markets list is Latin America – a region which the firm has observed growing interest. The expansion in this potentially rewarding hub will begin with Mexico. As part of its plans, Argent will also actively explore partnership opportunities specifically in the payments niche as well as fiat on- and off-ramps.

The firm will bring in experts to fill positions in various departments, including legal, finance and treasury management. It will also invest in research by setting up a team dedicated to Layer 2 protocols.

Besides geographical goals, Argent also wants to improve on its offerings.

“We’ve solved the issue of security in non-custodial crypto wallets, measuring up usability versus security to create an easy-to-use product, now we are focused on scalability. We have spent time in transition building out our Layer 2 product as we see Argent as being a super app with thousands of use cases,” one of the co-founders, Itamar Lesuisse, said.

Particularly, the London firm wants to develop an all-encompassing application that will have support for DeFi and Web 3 and NFTs.

“For every vertical, we can build a team that will explore and build solutions. We want the wallet to be the entry point for how you discover that world,” Lesuisse said.

Lesuisse, who doubles as the CEO, specifically noted that Argent plans to be the ‘de facto wallet for gaming.’ Argent’s wallet, at present, lets users hold specific NFTs by leveraging connections to NFT trading platforms.