Privy, a startup that helps brands build blockchain-based tools for their operations, raised $18 million in Series A funding. 

The crypto-focused investment firm Paradigm led the funding round, which saw additional participation from existing Privy investors Sequoia Capital, Blue Yard and Archetype, as well as angel investors Justin Waldron, Ben Leventhal, Dan Romero, James Prestwich, Tarun Chitra, Linda Xie, Patricio Worthalter, Cooper Turley and others. 

Paradigm co-founder and managing partner Matt Huang has also joined Privy’s board of directors. Privy intends to use the funding to grow its team and bolster its library for developers creating on-chain apps, the startup wrote on the social media platform X.

‘Good crypto apps’

“We know self-custody and crypto are not one size fits all. Good crypto apps should just be good apps,” Privy added. “Crypto experiences are ready for the mainstream and we’re excited to play our part in powering them.”

One of Privy’s collaborators include Blackbird, a web3 loyalty app founded by Ben Leventhal (also co-founder of the online restaurant reservation platform Resy). Blackbird raised $24 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz on Oct. 4, The Block previously reported. 

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