SOMPO/Munich Re-backed insurtech Chainproof launches in Bermuda

A new insurtech has launched on Bermuda, which will offer licensed, institutional-grade insurance coverage for open-source, non-custodial smart contracts on public, decentralized blockchains.

Chainproof, the world’s first regulated smart contract insurance provider, was incubated by Quantstamp, a blockchain security auditor managing more than $200 billion in digital asset risk. With seed investment and foundational support from SOMPO Light Vortex and reinsurance backing from Munich Re, Chainproof claims to bridge the worlds of traditional insurance and decentralized finance (DeFi).

The rapidly growing world of DeFi has over $70 billion of total value locked, a 6,000% increase from two years ago. This growth comes with significant risk yet traditional insurers lack the historical data and technical expertise required to properly underwrite insurance related to smart contracts.

This lack of regulated insurance has kept DeFi from achieving mainstream adoption, Chainproof claims. The combination of knowledge of Quantstamp, SOMPO and Munich Re, mean Chainproof claims it is positioned to become a leading regulated smart contract insurance provider.

“SOMPO is proud to be a foundational partner to Chainproof, a pioneering insurance provider for the growing DeFi economy,” said Koichi Narasaki, CEO of SOMPO Light Vortex and Executive Officer of SOMPO Holdings. “Chainproof represents the leading-edge of regulated insurance solutions for the groundbreaking world of Web3.”

Andre Knoerchen Head of New Tech Underwriting, from Munich Re, added: “Quantstamp and Chainproof provide the specific risk assessment expertise which is needed to navigate the emerging DeFi insurance market. Institutional investors will be further enabled to succeed in the DeFi sector, if they are covered by regulated insurance, which we support through reinsurance.”

Sebastian Banescu (pictured), CEO of Chainproof, said: “We are honoured to have been trusted by such distinguished partners in the traditional insurance industry as SOMPO and Munich Re. Given the fact that there is no such thing as a 100% secure smart contract system, we see the product offered by Chainproof as a must-have for institutional investors who want to navigate the DeFi space safely.”

Chainproof is proud to be backed by a number of other entities including Compound, Aave, Lido, Synthetix, Kyber, Amber Group, MakerDAO, Badger, DeFi Alliance, The Graph, Coinlist, Zynga, Illuvium, Hashgraph, Rally, Celo, Polygon, Blockfolio, Dapper Labs, and more.