Coinbase-backed web3 security shop Harpie announces immediate shutdown due to financial difficulties

Quick Take

  • Harpie has closed its on-chain firewall service, citing financial constraints.
  • The company raised $4.5 million in seed funding from VCs like Dragonfly Capital, Coinbase Ventures and OpenSea in September 2022.

Harpie, a web3 security provider backed by Coinbase Ventures, has shut down its on-chain firewall business effective immediately due to financial struggles, according to a company announcement.

Back in 2022, Harpie closed a $4.5 million seed round led by Dragonfly Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, the investment arm of U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase, and NFT marketplace OpenSea. The firm used the funding to build its blockchain protection service for Ethereum wallets, hoping to safeguard crypto users from rampant hacks. “We attempted to create a theft-free crypto ecosystem, but unfortunately could not create a sustainable business model around it,” Harpie’s team said about the business closure.

Hackers stole over $1.9 billion from blockchain entities in July 2022, according to Chainalysis, less than two months before Harpie’s raise in September of that same year. Three years later, on-chain security remains a major pain point for crypto users and service providers. North Korean-funded criminal organization Laraus exploited Bybit’s Safe cold wallet to steal over $1.4 billion in ether late last month. The incident is regarded as "the largest crypto theft of all time" and the biggest financial exploit recorded to date.

“We hope that we inspired new companies to take the torch of solving this problem,” Harpie wrote.


Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

AUTHOR

Naga joined The Block with over four years of crypto-reporting experience as a Lagos-based News Generalist and Markets Reporter. Previously at crypto dot news, Ethereum World News, and The San Fransisco Tribe, he's interviewed CEOs and industry experts, broke stories, and survived the FTX crash. He's a Digital Media and Journalism alumnus of the University of Lagos. You can send Naga scoops and intel via @shogunaga on Telegram.

See More

Editor

To contact the editor of this story: Adam James at [email protected]

WHO WE ARE

The Block is a news provider that strives to be the first and final word on digital assets news, research, and data.

+ Follow us on Google News
Connect with the block on