Anchorage, a US-based crypto custodian, announced that the company has raised $80 million in a Series C funding round led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC. The company is planning to meet the rising institutional demand for participation in the crypto market.
According to the official announcement, Blockchain Capital, Lux, Indico and a16z also participated in the latest funding round. Anchorage aims to become a crypto partner to neo banks, challenger banks and traditional banks.
The crypto custodian highlighted the recent institutional adoption of digital assets and mentioned that cryptocurrencies are getting popular among corporations and traditional financial institutions.
Commenting on the recent funding round, Bradford Stephens, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Blockchain Capital, said: “Anchorage has gone through a brilliant metamorphosis, from a world-class custody solution to the standard-bearer for crypto banking. In just a few short years, they’ve already been a powerful, catalytic force for institutional adoption, regulatory confidence and overall maturation of the space. We’re proud to lend our support as they continue to push the industry forward and the financial systems together.”
Crypto Custody
Anchorage became the first crypto custodian in the US to receive a federal charter from the US Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in January 2021. Institutional involvement in Bitcoin and other digital assets has increased significantly in the last few months and with that, the companies providing crypto-related services to institutions expanded at a rapid pace as well. Anchorage is planning to support corporates interested in the addition of Bitcoin and other digital currencies to their balance sheets.
“At Anchorage, our focus has always been enabling institutions to participate in the digital asset space. At first, participation meant secure custody you can use. It has since grown to mean a wide range of crypto-native financial products and services, from staking and governance to financing and lending, to trading and DeFi. Today, with banks and corporations seeking exposure to space themselves and their customers, we expect the meaning of participation to expand once again,” the company mentioned in the official announcement.
