DeFi wealth management protocol BlockGuard has announced an equity partnership with London-based Pixelette Technologies, a blockchain and IT firm. As part of the deal, announced on January 10, Pixelette’s founder and CEO, Asif Ashiq Rana, will join BlockGuard in an advisory capacity. Along with the equity injection, Rana brings extensive entrepreneurial and leadership experience to the project. The deal represents a “huge milestone” for BlockGuard, according to its CEO.
BlockGuard was founded in 2021 with the aim of making DeFi more accessible, transparent, and efficient for investors by addressing the sizable challenge of risk management in the segment. It now offers a range of decentralized financial services, including tools for portfolio creation and management and professionally managed blockchain-based funds. It will also offer a system for tokenized gold, which will now benefit from the expertise and efforts of Pixelette. The company will also work on developing an underlying blockchain architecture focused on security and user experience.
Pixelette Technologies is a UK-based blockchain and AI development firm established in 2018. Founder and CEO Asif Ashiq Rana is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group that advises the UK government on blockchain and AI technologies, as well as holding the position of Managing Director at Big Innovation Centre (BIC), an award-winning think tank. Speaking of the deal with BlockGuard, Rana stated: “We are thrilled to partner with the team on the innovative BlockGuard Network project and are committed to providing top-tier development solutions to bring their vision to life.”
The announcement disclosed that the equity deal will comprise a 5% stake, and Rana’s appointment as advisor to BlockGuard is effective immediately. The deal is part of BlockGuard’s long-term growth plans, with CEO Anthony Bevan stating that it represents a “huge milestone as we look to build on our 2024 vision and beyond.” BlockGuard takes a long-term approach to optimizing asset growth, focusing on stability rather than artificially inflated APY numbers.
Rising Interest in DeFi
The BlockGuard deal is timely, coming as the SEC has just announced the landmark approval of 11 Bitcoin ETFs in the US. The move is widely seen as a starting pistol on growing institutional interest in digital assets and decentralized financial innovation throughout 2024, following a flurry of experimentation late last year. In November, Uniswap Labs announced a partnership with institutional investech firm Talos, in a move to bring DeFi liquidity to institutional traders.
Prior to that, the Bank of Italy tapped Polygon for a pilot program offering a regulated platform for institutional DeFi. Many of these types of collaborations – like BlockGuard’s – are only the seeds of collaborative efforts that will bear fruit over months and years to come.
