SAN JOSE, Calif. — PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) today announced that it has agreed to acquire Curv to accelerate and expand its initiatives to support cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Curv is a leading provider of cloud-based infrastructure for digital asset security based in Tel Aviv, Israel.

In October 2020, PayPal announced its commitment to help shape the role that digital currencies will play in the future of financial services and commerce. To drive sustained growth and innovation in this area, the company recently created a business unit focused on blockchain, crypto and digital currencies. Curv will join the newly formed group, with its strong team of technologists adding technical expertise to PayPal.

“The acquisition of Curv is part of our effort to invest in the talent and technology to realize our vision for a more inclusive financial system,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, vice president and general manager, blockchain, crypto and digital currencies, PayPal. “During our conversations with Curv’s team, we’ve been impressed by their technical talent, entrepreneurial spirit, and the thinking behind the technology they’ve built in the last few years. We’re excited to welcome the Curv team to PayPal.”

Curv was founded in 2018 by CEO Itay Malinger and CTO Dan Yadlin.

“As a pioneer in security infrastructure for digital assets, Curv is proud to be recognized as an innovator and trusted partner to leading financial institutions around the world,” said Malinger. “Now, as the adoption of digital assets accelerates, we feel there’s no better home than PayPal to continue our journey of innovation. We’re excited to join PayPal in expanding the role these assets play in the global economy.”

PayPal expects to complete the acquisition in the first half of 2021. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

About PayPal

PayPal has remained at the forefront of the digital payment revolution for more than 20 years. By leveraging technology to make financial services and commerce more convenient, affordable, and secure, the PayPal platform is empowering more than 375 million consumers and merchants in more than 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy. For more information, visit paypal.com.

About Curv

Curv is a global trusted provider of digital asset security technology that is delivered as a fully scalable, enterprise-grade and compliant cloud service. Curv’s multi-party computation (MPC) technology simultaneously provides institutions the protection, instant availability and total autonomy over digital assets required to thrive in the digital economy. For more information, visit curv.co.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information relate to future events and future performance and reflect PayPal’s expectations regarding the impact of this transaction on PayPal’s and Curv’s business and the timing of the closing of the acquisition. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “seek”, “believe”, “plan”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, expect”, “project, “forecast”, or “intend”, and statements that an event or result “may”, “will”, “should”, “could”, or “might” occur or be achieved and any other similar expressions.

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made, and, accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the timing and satisfaction of closing conditions in connection with the transaction, the possibility that the transaction may not close, the reaction to the transaction of Curv’s customers and business partners, the reaction of competitors to the transaction, the retention of Curv’s employees, PayPal’s plans for Curv, economic and political conditions in the global markets in which PayPal and Curv operate, the future growth of PayPal’s and Curv’s businesses and the possibility that integration following the transaction may be more difficult than expected.

More information about these and other factors that could adversely affect PayPal’s results of operations, financial condition and prospects or that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements can be found in PayPal Holdings, Inc.’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and its future filings with the SEC.

The forward-looking statements contained in this announcement speak only as of the date hereof. PayPal expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Contacts

Josh Criscoe
jcriscoe@paypal.com

Two and a half years ago when Dan and I started Curv, traditional financial institutions were just beginning to consider entry to the digital asset space. They were in need of a trusted security partner to help them navigate an uncharted territory. Coupled with our expertise in cryptography, experience migrating solutions to the cloud, and unique cybersecurity knowledge we were confident we could serve as that trusted partner. Curv would deliver a scalable, cloud-based tech stack that would address the unique needs and challenges that both crypto-native and traditional financial institutions faced with their digital asset security. We would base our solution on a disruptive concept that one could store, access and manage any and all digital assets without needing to use a private key.

Since Curv’s inception, we have grown the company methodically. In addition to our headquarters in New York, we now have offices in Hong Kong, Paris, San Francisco, and Tel Aviv. Our growing team of 35+ leading cryptographers, engineers, and business professionals have the opportunity to work with some of the most successful crypto-native institutions and admired financial institutions worldwide. All of these partners turn to Curv to accelerate their adoption of digital assets in a safe and secure way and bring new cryptofinance products to market.

Fueled by our success to date, we are very proud to announce that we have raised $23M in a round backed by CommerzVentures, Coinbase Ventures, and Digital Garage Lab Fund, with previous investors Digital Currency Group and Team8 continuing their support in Curv as well. The Series A round — which brings Curv’s total funding to $30 million — will be used to grow our team and technology, solidify our position as the most secure digital asset security infrastructure, and further serve our client base around the globe.

COVID-19 reached its pandemic status just as we began our fundraising outreach. We were steadfast in our view that the best companies would get funded and Curv was one of those companies. While the bar would be higher we knew investors would be particularly interested in how our business was continuing to grow. Curv proved itself to be resilient. Demand for our infrastructure remains relevant (arguably more so today), and we continue to facilitate the safe transfer, storage, and management of digital assets for institutions seeking to act in real-time without fear of their assets being insecure or misused.

In the post-COVID world order, companies can no longer be stymied by cold storage delays, growing hardware expenditures, or the need to be in physical proximity to their wallets to gain access. Organizations in each and every continent continue to turn to Curv to adopt our scalable enterprise-grade approach to security — ridding themselves of operational burdens and embracing a decentralized and democratized way of managing assets across institutions.

One of the best things about fundraising is that you are compelled to consider all the great things you’ve accomplished as a company and what you aspire to achieve in the future. At Curv, we’ve always known that our platform creates the safest, most secure method for which to engage with the digital economy. Every single decision we make with our product, roadmap and its deployment is driven by our commitment to eliminate any single point of failure. As a company, we’ve gone to extensive lengths to not only set but also maintain a high bar for security that I know will remain the industry standard.

I am most proud of the team of individuals we have assembled at Curv these past two years. Curv’s R&D Center continues to attract the most talented employees from a diverse set of disciplines. Our world class of experienced go-to-market professionals bring their depth of knowledge, experience, and drive to work every day. It is the people at Curv who have established our strong foundation for future growth. The Curv team continuously analyzes the challenges presented by our customers and then works to address them by producing powerful ideas and new products — all while maintaining communication and sourcing feedback from our partners throughout the process. You can’t achieve this caliber of success without a strong, open and aligned team.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of our customers, partners and investors. We thank you for putting your trust in us and for always providing us with candid feedback to strengthen our product. We will continue to deliver solutions that meet your needs with confidence, speed and control. The past few years have brought us great success and I look forward to seeing how far we can get in the next two and the changes we can help drive across the growing industry to ensure safe and reliable use of digital assets.

Today, Curv announces the debut of Curv Air Gap, an industry-first solution that uses Curv’s multi-party computation (MPC) technology to allow clients to supplement their online transactional wallet with an offline, air-gapped machine for signing transactions. The new solution gives institutions greater flexibility in adapting to changing regulations by deploying diverse signing mechanisms and offline storage schemas for key management. Curv Air Gap’s keyless cryptography also solves key security risks of cold wallets and frees institutions from having to make suboptimal tradeoffs between security and asset availability.

Today, regulatory changes are occurring across KYC and AML, but tomorrow it might be licensing or reporting requirements. To ensure institutions remain adaptable as these regulations are enacted, Curv Air Gap allows institutions to decide which transactions across their portfolio are earmarked for signing via an online wallet or an air-gapped machine. Curv clients still benefit from the same level of security, flexibility and scalability inherent in Curv’s wallet service.

Cold wallet access requires physical proximity to the server or hardware on which digital assets are held. Institutions must grant employees access to cold wallets and trust certain employees to manage these assets. This can introduce other types of risks such as insider threats and physical damage. Curv Air Gap solves these challenges by allowing organizations to receive all the benefits of traditional cold wallets without the operational burden or risks of unauthorized access, insider threats, human errors or physical damage.

We solved the digital asset signature and key generation challenges well over two years ago. Curv Air Gap is our latest, significant mathematical breakthrough based on the specific needs of our customers and partners. So we’re not only implementing MPC for our customers, but also constantly pushing the envelope of what’s possible with MPC technology.

In the academic community, MPC has always been associated with internet-connected requirements that involved all parties being online. With Curv Air Gap, the mathematical breakthrough allows you to run an MPC protocol with a fully offline (air-gapped) party for the first time.

Curv is used by dozens of customers across the globe and many of them are already onboarding Curv Air Gap, including multi-asset investment platform eToro and leading crypto exchange Korbit, among others. Curv Air Gap is simple and quick to deploy. Key benefits include:

Keyless Cryptographic Security and Threshold Signing

Curv’s security model utilizes MPC protocols, enabling transactions to be securely signed in a mathematically-proven, distributed way without use of a key. Any transaction signed by a Curv air-gapped machine is approved systematically by a quorum. Unlike traditional cold storage, room for error or insider collusion is significantly reduced.

Cloud-based, Software Delivery

Curv Air Gap is a cloud-based, software solution. No specialized hardware or HSM is required. Any organizational machine can be converted into an air-gapped machine. In turn, set-up takes a matter of minutes and there is limited training required to be fully operational.

In addition, Curv Air Gap has several flexible deployment models, provides instant access to any digital asset, and reduces costs by streamlining operations.

“We face different regulatory requirements across the globe that dictate various offline storage models for key management and signing mechanisms. Curv Air Gap allows us to quickly and easily meet those requirements, and to address key operational and security limitations of cold wallets. Curv also has the most extensive policy engine and audit capabilities in the market today that enables us to dramatically reduce the operational cost of managing our assets. The fact that MPC is independent of the blockchain allows us to use one infrastructure across all asset types for hot, warm and cold storage.”
- Israel Kalush, VP of Engineering of eToro

To learn more, download the Curv Air Gap solution brief or contact info@curv.co to schedule a demo.