Copper in Midst of $196M Funding Round

The crypto custody firm had originally sought a Series C raise at a $3 billion valuation before the market downturn, according to Bloomberg

article-image

Blockworks exclusive art by Axel Rangel

share

key takeaways

  • Copper closed a $50 million funding round co-led by Dawn Capital and Target Global in May 2021
  • The firm hired former Bank of America Merrill Lynch pros in April to build out its prime infrastructure offerings

Crypto custodian Copper has raised $196 million as part of an ongoing Series C venture round, the latest instance of dollars flowing to digital asset startups despite the bear market. 

The firm raised $181 million from new and existing shareholders as of June, as well as a convertible loan note of $15 million, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. A company spokesperson confirmed the fundraise to Blockworks. 

The Copper representative declined to comment on when and at what amount the company is targeting to end the round, as well as the ensuing valuation.

Founded in 2018, Copper provides custody, prime brokerage and settlement services to institutional investors. The fresh funding comes as the firm has hired a number of traditional finance veterans this year. 

The company brought aboard ex-Citi executive Sabrina Wilson as chief operating officer in March and hired five former Bank of America Merrill Lynch employees the following month to lead the expansion of its prime brokerage.

Copper more recently tapped Tim Neill, a former Mastercard executive, as chief risk officer. Having previously worked at Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and the London Stock Exchange Group, Neill told Blockworks earlier this month that he planned to port his banking background to building out and refining DeFi-oriented products. 

Copper closed a $10 million Series A round in 2020, followed by a $50 million Series B in May of last year. The latter fundraise was co-led by Dawn Capital and Target Global.

Bloomberg reported last November that Copper was in talks with investors for a roughly $500 million funding round that would have valued the company at roughly $3 billion. Crypto markets have since sunk, with bitcoin and ether prices down more than 70% from their November all-time highs.

The European bank Barclays bought into Copper’s latest raise at a $2 billion valuation, Sky News reported in July.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

kamino cover.jpg

Research

Kamino has solidified its position as the leading money market on Solana and is emerging as a DeFi bluechip. Although DeFi competition is fierce, Kamino has kept iterating on its product to provide the best-in-class UX, paired with a robust risk management framework and battle-tested infrastructure. Given the rollout of Kamino Lend V2, the protocol may scale aggressively over the coming months, penetrating previously untapped markets in Solana DeFi.

article-image

Platforms like Polymarket and Drift’s BET show higher probabilities for a Trump victory, reflecting current market sentiments

article-image

While DAOs promote transparency and community involvement, underlying centralized mechanisms reveal the challenges in achieving full decentralization

article-image

Also in the tokenized fund space, Franklin Templeton launches on Base and Securitize hits $1 billion in tokenized RWA onchain

article-image

It turns out that bitcoin never actually hit an all-time high in March. Thanks a lot, inflation.

article-image

Spire, Citrea and Nillion also announced raises this week

article-image

The latest recipient of an SEC Wells notice is a Web3 gaming company