Riddle&Code

Riddle & Code, founded in Austria in 2016 by Alexander Koppel, Thomas Fürstner, and Tom Fürstner, has established itself as a key player in the blockchain interface solutions market. The firm rebranded to ValiD in early 2024 to better reflect its expanded focus on digital identity, tokenization, and Web3 wallets. The founding team brought a blend of expertise to the venture; Alexander Koppel previously held senior positions at major telecommunications firms, while Tom Fürstner has a deep background in technology and cryptography, which directly informed the company's technological direction.

The company provides the building blocks for the new digital economy by offering hardware and software stacks that enable businesses to manage their digital assets securely. Its core business revolves around creating crypto-asset management solutions, which are essentially secure systems for storing, managing, and connecting physical items to the blockchain. This process is often referred to as creating a 'digital twin' for a physical object. This technology serves a diverse client base, including financial institutions, cryptocurrency exchanges, and funds, by providing them with the necessary infrastructure for secure digital asset management.

ValiD's product portfolio is built around its proprietary technology stack, which combines hardware security modules (HSMs) with software to offer a range of services. These include custody solutions for digital assets, tokenization platforms that can turn real-world assets into tradable digital tokens, and secure identity solutions. For example, the firm developed a secure wallet for Daimler Truck to validate vehicle data and has worked on projects involving the tokenization of luxury goods. The business model appears to be a combination of providing these infrastructure products as a service (B2B) and potentially licensing its technology.

Significant milestones include several successful funding rounds, with a Series A of $5.7 million in 2019, followed by a substantial Series B round raising $27 million, led by prominent venture capital firms. These capital injections have fueled the company's product development and expansion into new markets, solidifying its position within the digital asset infrastructure sector. The strategic rebranding to ValiD signals a move towards a broader application of its core technology in the evolving Web3 landscape.

Keywords: digital asset custody, tokenization, blockchain interface, hardware security, Web3 infrastructure, crypto asset management, digital identity, secure wallets, fintech, enterprise blockchain