Staking: Kiln completes a $17 million funding round

The French start-up specialising in staking for institutional investors has increased its turnover fivefold by 2023. The Crypto com platform is among the new investors.

While the last 18 months have been complicated for many crypto players, some like Kiln have managed to pull through.

The company led by Laszlo Szabo has just closed a $17 million funding round led by the 1kx fund. Other investors such as the IOSG Ventures fund (investor in ConsenSys, Near, 1inch...), the Crypto.com exchange platform and Wintermute Ventures also participated in the deal

This round of funding, which is an extension of the $20 million raised in the 2022 Series A round, rewards an exceptional 2023. Over the past twelve months, the start-up, which is not yet profitable, has increased its turnover fivefold and signed partnerships with industry heavyweights such as Coinbase and Ledger.

Kiln specialises in various services for institutional clients relating to staking. This activity involves immobilising cryptos within a blockchain to help secure it, in exchange for a reward.

This activity is booming, particularly since Ethereum's consensus change was fully completed last April.

First node operator on Ethereum

Riding this wave, Kiln is now the first node operator on Ethereum with 4% of staked ethers managed by its infrastructures. This represents around $4 billion in assets under management.

"Today, staking is considered to be one of the safest sources of return in the crypto market. In these complicated times, investors see companies specialising in this activity as veritable cash-machines", confides one investor.

According to our information, Kiln may even have tripled the amount of its fundraising. "There was almost $60 million on the table", says a person close to the company. In the end, management opted for less dilution to retain as much control as possible.

The amount raised should enable the start-up to finance its global expansion, particularly in the US where the company is in talks with many asset managers interested in cryptos. Kiln will also accelerate its development in Singapore, where the company will establish its Asian regional headquarters in the first quarter of 2024. It will also expand the range of its services beyond staking by offering a wider range of returns from decentralised finance (DeFi).