Singapore-based DeFi-as-a-Service (Daas) platform Cobo has raised $40 million in a Series B funding round.

Decentralised finance (DeFi) is a blockchain-based form of finance that does not rely on traditional intermediaries such as brokerages, exchanges, or banks, and instead utilises smart contracts on blockchains, the most common being cryptocurrency Ethereum.

The FinTech said it will use the capital to develop its DeFi-as-a-Service infrastructure which it said will enable users to access and implement DeFi protocols via "user-friendly interfaces", without any in-depth experience of decentralised finance development.

The capital is also set to be used to develop Cobo’s existing Wallet-as-a-Service (WaaS) and Trading-and-staking-as-a- Service (StaaS) offerings.

In addition, the FinTech said the capital will be used to apply for new regulatory licenses as the firm continues to transition its headquarters from Beijing to Singapore, and to fulfil the relevant anti-money laundering (AML) and counter the financing of terrorism (CFT) requirements.

Cobo was founded in 2017 by Changhao Jiang and Mao Shixing - also known as Discus Fish – who are both prominent figures in the Asian cryptocurrency scene.

The company said the funding comes amid increased interest from Asian investors, institutional investors, and retail investors in diversifying their portfolios against risks such as inflation.

DeFi has been attracting interest from established players in the financial services space over the past few months.

Jack Dorsey, the chief executive of US payments company Square, announced his company is set to enter the decentralised finance (DeFi) market in July.

DeFi has also recently been making the headlines in a less positive light; last month hackers stole $600 million in cryptocurrency from decentralised finance provider (DeFi) Poly Network, in what is thought to be the largest cryptocurrency heist on record.

"In the past, we’d witnessed crypto applications evolve from Bitcoin to DeFi and now NFTs,” said founder Mao Shixing. “In due time, I even foresee metaverses will be next to be developed on the blockchain.”

He added: “So, looking ahead, we have the foundational infrastructure in place that will enable us to serve 1,000 institutional investors.”

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