Portable Identity Company Parallel Markets Announces Series A, led by Union Square Ventures

The company’s “Passport” makes it easier, faster and safer for customers to invest across traditional banking and Web3 platforms

Identity verification (KYC/AML) and Accreditation processes at financial institutions are slow and repetitive. With rapid growth in new investing platforms, each with redundant verification requirements, the need for a financial identity Passport has only become more apparent. Additionally, the global blockchain technology market is projected to reach nearly USD 400 billion by 2028, with decentralized banking and financial services being large drivers of growth. Tens of millions of participants in Web3 will need to be able to validly convey identity and other credentials in order to access financial products within this innovative new ecosystem.

Parallel Markets is the creator of the Parallel Passport — a robust, portable digital identity solution that satisfies regulatory KYC/AML, Customer Due Diligence Rule and investor accreditation requirements.

Our mission is to empower people and business entities to access financial products and platforms in a seamless manner while retaining exclusive control over their identity and financial data. Our Passport enables users to easily demonstrate that they are trustworthy and qualified to participate in a transaction while providing the recipients of that data quick, effective and scalable compliance with their regulatory obligations.

Tens of thousands of investors already carry Parallel Passports to ease and expedite onboarding at more than 50 financial institutions.

Parallel Markets is thrilled to announce their $7MM Series A to expand their identity platform, drive market adoption in the traditional financial markets and bring a critical piece of infrastructure to market for decentralized transactions in Web3 that can simultaneously enable integrity and anonymity. The round was led by Union Square Ventures, with participation from new and existing investors, including Comcast Ventures, Eniac Ventures, Lux Capital, RiverPark Ventures and Supernode Ventures.

John Buttrick of Union Square Ventures will be joining the Board of Directors.

“Parallel Markets, our newest investment, believes that the future of identity verification for financial services should be digital and portable. The ‘passport model’ is one that has long interested us in keeping with our thesis around identity, network effects and user control,” states Buttrick.

This new funding will enable Parallel Markets to:

• Bring about a new paradigm of robust and seamless financial compliance by making identity fully portable for use in both traditional financial institutions as well as for DeFI and Web3
• Issue the world’s first regulatorily-compliant on-chain identity token
• Reduce fraud and money laundering across the entire ecosystem by eliminating the inefficiencies and redundancies of current KYC processes
• Give users greater control than ever before for access to sensitive identity data

If you’re interested in improving your onboarding experience for customers with a fully compliant solution, we would love to show you how we can help.

If you’re interested in solving the complex problem of portable digital identity for financial markets, we are hiring. Reach out to us at sales@parallelmarkets.com. We’d love to hear from you.

Our team is very appreciative to our community and to our investors for believing in our vision. We are very excited for this next step in our company’s growth.