Shinhan Investment Securities is investing in Digital Asset, the operator of the institutional blockchain Canton Network, to expand cooperation in digital assets and tokenisation businesses.

Shinhan Investment Securities said on July 27 it participated as an investor in Digital Asset together with Shinhan Venture Investment.

The investment was made by joining a $355 million funding round led by a16z Crypto, Andreessen Horowitz's digital asset-focused fund.

Digital Asset is a blockchain technology company founded in 2014 that operates Canton Network, a privacy blockchain for financial institutions.

Canton Network is a public layer-1 blockchain that supports the privacy, compliance and interoperability required by financial institutions. It is designed to enable assets, applications and regulated operational procedures to be moved into an on-chain environment.

Cooperation between Shinhan Financial Group and Digital Asset is also expanding. Digital Asset last month signed a memorandum of understanding with Shinhan Investment Securities and Shinhan Asset Management for cooperation in digital assets and tokenisation.

A Shinhan Investment Securities official said, "This investment is an example showing Shinhan Financial Group's interest in blockchain infrastructure that can be used by regulated financial institutions," adding, "Based on Canton Network's privacy and compliance capabilities, we will participate in building global digital asset infrastructure."