TransCrypts, a blockchain startup focused on giving users ownership of verified credentials, has secured a $15 million seed round led by Pantera Capital. The round also saw participation from Lightspeed Faction, Alpha Edison, Motley Fool Ventures, and returning investors including Mark Cuban and Protocol Labs.

The funding comes on the heels of a strong summer for the San Francisco-based firm. In September, TransCrypts won CoinDesk’s Pitchfest at Consensus Hong Kong, earning $10,000 in tokens, a trophy, and ten coaching sessions. CEO and founder Zain Zaidi said the victory helped the team clarify its vision for “self-sovereign identity”—a system allowing individuals to control their personal data directly, without relying on employers, universities, or government bodies.

Zaidi’s motivation for founding the company stemmed from a personal bureaucratic mishap that almost cost him his graduate school spot when his transcripts were lost. “If we can’t prove who we are or what we’ve accomplished, we lose something essential,” he told CoinDesk previously.

From Employment to Healthcare and Education
TransCrypts initially focused on employment verification. The platform enables users to collect, encrypt, and share records directly with employers, background checkers, or other authorized parties. Encrypted data is stored off-chain, while hashes remain on-chain, allowing users to prove authenticity without exposing sensitive information.

With HIPAA certification now secured, TransCrypts plans to expand its system to healthcare and education. The upgraded platform could let patients share verified medical histories between providers or allow graduates to send diplomas and transcripts to prospective employers—eliminating intermediaries and streamlining verification.

On-Chain Identity Gains Momentum
The expansion is timely, as fraud risks escalate. In 2023, Americans lost $43 billion to identity theft, while deepfake scams rose over 1,800%, according to the company. Zaidi believes decentralized identity systems can combat these threats by giving users full control over what data is shared, when, and with whom.

TransCrypts currently serves 4 million users and more than 450 enterprise clients across healthcare, staffing, and other industries. The new funding will support growth in regulated sectors and enhance real-time credential verification tools.

For users, this could mean faster hiring processes and smoother onboarding for hospitals and schools. For the broader market, the round signals increasing confidence in blockchain-based identity systems, moving them from a niche concept to a viable defense against fraud and deepfake risks.