Business
Crypto startup Seismic raises $10 million to help fintechs protect customer data
As more and more fintech companies use crypto, they face one big challenge: blockchains are public. This creates a risk that customers’ sensitive financial data, like their salaries, or how much they pay for rent, could inadvertently be made public. That’s a problem that a startup called Seismic is aiming to solve.
On Wednesday, Seismic announced that it raised $10 million in a funding round led by a16z crypto, with participation from Polychain, Amber Group, TrueBridge, dao5, and LayerZero. In total, the startup has now raised a total of $17 million. Lyron Co Ting Keh, the founder and CEO of Seismic, did not disclose his company’s valuation in an interview with Fortune.
Co Ting Keh explained that he named his startup Seismic for two reasons. First, it aims to be boots on the ground and intimately know the needs of its customers, which Co Ting Keh said is critical in crypto, a very technical field where it can be easy to lose sight of the user. Second, Seismic means huge, which is ultimately what the company wants to be.
“We know we’re extremely grounded,” said Co Ting Keh. “And we hope to be extremely valuable.”
Seismic’s fundraise comes at a time when fintech companies and major financial institutions are embracing crypto. With that embrace comes a growing need for privacy. In a16z crypto’s most recent “State of Crypto” report, they found that users of blockchain technology are more conscious than ever about whether their data is safe. The report cites that Google searches related to crypto privacy have surged in the past year.
As part of its mission to help fintechs protect customer data, Seismic partners with a fintech company called Brookwell, which provides customers with stablecoin accounts–where their money is not stored in a bank. When customers make transactions on Brookwell, the payment goes over Seismic’s private blockchain rails, which ensures data is not leaked or displayed publicly.
Co Ting Keh said that his company also works with Cred, which is a private credit service. He also mentioned they work with an unnamed business to transfer money internationally at a cheaper rate than traditional rails.
He said that his company’s competition is Tempo, a Stripe-backed blockchain startup which recently raised $500 million and is valued at $5 billion. “Tempo is a heck of a powerhouse”, he said, adding that both companies can succeed at the same time, “if the pie is big enough all of us eat.”
Seismic seeks to set itself apart from its competition by its holistic offering. For example, when a company uses Seismic for a specific function, Seismic does not stop there. They ask the company what else they need, and how they can go beyond their specific product. “Our value prop is not that we do X, Y, and Z. Our value prop is that we help you win,” Co Ting Keh said.
With the newly raised capital, the company plans to expand its offerings, like on-and-off ramping from fiat into crypto and card programs. As of now, the company does not have any revenue but expects to by Q1 of next year by charging one cent per transaction.
