Ethereum Staking-as-a-Service Startup Kiln Raises $17.6M

Kiln, a startup that allows customers to receive rewards for helping secure the Ethereum blockchain, raised 17 million euros ($17.6 million) in a Series A funding round from a group of investors that included crypto incubator Consensys, investment firm GSR and crypto exchange Kraken's venture-capital arm.

The Paris-based company plans to use the funds to expand its staking-as-a-service offerings, according to a press release Monday.

Staking involves locking up a cryptocurrency for a period of time on a proof-of-stake blockchain such as Ethereum and receiving a share of the proceeds that come from verifying transactions. The world's second-largest cryptocurrency changed its consensus algorithm to proof-of-stake from proof-of-work in September, and staking services are expected to boom.

"Staking is going to be one of the core fabrics of the entire crypto industry," Ciaran O'Leary, co-founder and general partner of BlueYard Capital, which invested in Kiln for the second time, said in the press release.

Staking-as-a-service products make it easy for custodians, exchanges, wallets and treasury managers to commit their digital assets to the blockchain. Kiln had $500 million of staked assets under management as of Nov. 23.

LeadblockPartners, Sparkle Ventures and XBTO also participated in the round, along with existing investors 3KVC, SV Angel and Alven.

Read more: Crypto Staking 101: What Is Staking?

CORRECTION (Nov. 28, 14:14 UTC): Corrects investor name to GSR in first paragraph. An earlier version of this story said the investor was GSR Ventures.