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Bitwise: Why is Top Capital Betting Big on New Public Blockchains? The Answer Lies in These Three Points

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From Arc, Canton, and Tempo's Mega Funding Rounds: Dissecting the Fundamental Transformation Logic of the Crypto Industry.

Original Article Title: Canton, Arc, and Tempo: Three Lessons About Crypto

Original Article Author: Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise
Original Article Translation: Saoirse, Foresight News

Industry news often emerges in clusters. When such moments occur, it is worth paying close attention because there is always a significant trend behind it.

Just this past Monday, stablecoin issuer Circle announced that its new blockchain project Arc had completed a $2.22 billion funding round, reaching an overall valuation of $30 billion. The investors include prestigious institutions such as BlackRock, Apollo Funds, and the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange.

On the day before that, news came from the emerging blockchain Canton Network's developer Digital Asset about a funding round: led by a16z, it raised $300 million at a $20 billion valuation.

In a similar vein, Tempo, a blockchain under Stripe's umbrella, had already taken the lead in the race: it raised $5 billion at the end of last year, with a valuation of up to $50 billion, and subsequently announced strategic partnerships with companies such as DoorDash and Visa.

Arc, Canton, and Tempo, three public blockchains, are all tailored for the stablecoin and asset tokenization scene. This wave of concentrated fundraising frenzy has also led me to summarize three crucial insights for the crypto industry.

Capital Always Follows Regulatory Legislation

The several multi-billion-dollar funding rounds mentioned above all took place after the U.S. Congress passed the "Genius Act" in July 2025.

I have always believed that before the enactment of the Act, the U.S. crypto legislation process was sluggish, directly dampening industry investment enthusiasm; major institutions were unwilling to rashly expand their businesses or build public chain infrastructure under the clouded regulatory outlook. And now, with regulatory clarity, the industry landscape is changing.

No one can be certain whether, without the "Genius Act" escorting them, these projects would still maintain their current valuations and complete large fundraisings. However, it is certain that regulatory clarity has played a crucial catalyzing role.

For investors, the most thought-provoking question is: if the comprehensive market architecture bill for the crypto industry, the "Clarity Act," smoothly passes in Congress, how much industry opportunity will it unleash?

The Clarity Act has a much broader scope than the Genius Act, and since the final text of the Act has not been finalized, it is currently impossible to accurately predict its impact. However, it is certain that the asset tokenization sector and compliant financial infrastructure will be the primary beneficiaries. I also look forward to the final version of the Act positively impacting areas such as decentralized finance and innovative tokenomics design. Specific details will need to wait for the official text to be released. The Clarity Act is worth everyone's continued attention.

Privacy Protection Could Become a Phenomenal Core Application

Arc, Canton, and Tempo share a common feature, which is also the biggest difference from Ethereum and Solana: all three public blockchains have natively embedded privacy transaction capabilities.

As cryptocurrency assets gradually integrate into mainstream business scenarios, this design logic aligns well with real-world needs. The public transparency of public blockchains is intended to build trust, but in a commercial setting, it can become a weakness.

Businesses are unwilling to have every unfinished transaction publicly available to the entire network, and professionals do not want their salary transactions to be easily queried by anyone through a blockchain explorer. At this point, public transparency is no longer an advantage but has become a real pain point.

Even the most ardent supporters of blockchain transparency must admit that the business world inherently requires a balance of privacy and information confidentiality. These three emerging public blockchains have privacy features embedded at the foundational level, precisely meeting the genuine needs of traditional institutions. The recent rounds of substantial funding also confirm that these projects are heading in the right direction.

Traditional Giants Officially Enter the Stage to Compete in the Race

The most distinctive feature of Arc, Canton, and Tempo is their backing by top-tier enterprises and financial institutions.

· Arc is developed under the leadership of the publicly traded company Circle;

· Canton's investors include Wall Street giants such as Goldman Sachs, Citadel, Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Nasdaq, BNY Mellon, S&P Global, and Virtu;

· Tempo is a collaboration between payment giant Stripe and crypto venture fund Paradigm, with participation in project architecture design from Anthropic, Deutsche Bank, Revolut, Shopify, Visa, and OpenAI.

In contrast, the old-school public blockchains have a completely different origin: Ethereum was founded by a 19-year-old dropout who initiated it on a Bitcoin forum, while Solana was conceptualized by a moment of inspiration from a former Qualcomm engineer.

Of course, this does not mean that traditional giants will definitely win. In fact, I personally have a longer-term positive view on native cryptocurrency projects. However, it is undeniable that the entry of banks and large tech companies will bring more abundant capital, stronger operational capabilities, and more professional standardized operations to the industry.

Peer competition and collaboration will drive growth. I believe that with the dual competition between giants and native projects, the innovation speed and development boundaries of the entire crypto industry will be further expanded.

After all, as iron sharpens iron, competition and collaboration will promote progress.