TransCrypts, a blockchain startup building tools for people to own and share verified credentials, has raised a $15 million seed round led by Pantera Capital.

The round included Lightspeed Faction, Alpha Edison, Motley Fool Ventures, and a mix of returning investors such as Mark Cuban and Protocol Labs.

The funding follows a strong summer for the San Francisco-based company. In September, TransCrypts won CoinDesk’s Pitchfest at Consensus Hong Kong, taking home $10,000 in tokens, a trophy, and ten coaching sessions.

Founder and CEO Zain Zaidi said that the win helped the team refine its vision for what he calls “self-sovereign identity”— a way for people to control their data directly, without relying on employers, universities, or government agencies.

Bureaucratic mishap

Zaidi founded

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