Michael Bodley

<div id="highlights-block_624de266d2666" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The latest funding follows a $9 million pre-Series A haul in September 2021</li>
 <li>The platform has given its family-office clients access to notable digital-asset deal flow, including Animoca Brands</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Aspen Digital, a cryptocurrency investing platform that keys in on big-money traditional investors, has inked a number of strategic partnerships as the firm looks to expand its regional footprint, hire staffers and roll out new business lines.&nbsp;



Since its January launch, Hong Kong-based Aspen has brought on board more than 100 family offices, with plans to add in relatively short order at least another <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/what-is-the-future-of-crypto-investment-among-family-offices/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">100 wealthy families</a>, most of whom are based in Asia.



The startup’s latest fundraise comes on the heels of a September 2021 $9 million pre-Series A round led by Liberty City Ventures and RIT Capital. Its latest capital-raising haul and new valuation were not disclosed.



Aspen’s latest backers include Singapore venture capital firm K3 Ventures, Rockpool Capital and Venture Smart Financial Group via BlackPine.



The company has also launched an internal research and trading team, plus automated, in-house, market-neutral arbitrage and DeFi strategies. Aspen has additionally rolled out crypto fixed-income yield products, as well as so-called smart beta products.&nbsp;



The platform’s limited partners are mainly concentrated in Asia — while Aspen offers access to US portfolio managers, it has so far shied away from US allocators due to regulatory concerns — but the company plans to use the funding and resources from its latest partnerships to expand into the growing crypto markets of Australia, Dubai and London.



Yang He, Aspen’s co-founder and CEO, told Blockworks the company plans to raise a Series A round in the third quarter or so — with that capital earmarked to further grow the team and expand into new markets.



“There’s so many traditional finance people entering the space, especially in Asia,” He said. “A lot of them have been so focused on [traditional finance], and now you&#8217;re seeing a lot of people going all-in on crypto. They don’t want to miss this wave.” 



He pegged a potential future move into the US limited partner space as part of the company’s “second phase,” given regulatory uncertainties, taxation questions and other complexities. It’ll be imperative for Aspen to build out that market, given the strong appetite of US institutions for crypto managers — on both the venture capital and liquid hedge fund sides — in Asia who have expertise in Web3 and DeFi (decentralized finance) strategies, plus on-the-ground access to deal flow.&nbsp;



For an upstart, Aspen has already given its family offices strong access to private investment opportunities, including Animoca Brands and Dunamu, the parent company of South Korean crypto exchange UpBit.



The firm often takes a principal equity position in venture deals to demonstrate to its skin in the game.&nbsp;



Managers pay Aspen a cut of their performance and management fees to be listed on the platform, so the cost isn’t passed on to investors, as in a traditional fund-of-funds model.&nbsp;



“We want to be the partner for these traditional wealth managers as they&#8217;re building into crypto,” He said. “The platform play has already been done many times, and there&#8217;s many platforms…But, again, what really matters is the expertise that comes with it.”



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Aspen

Crypto Investment Platform Inks Big-name Partners, Eyes Regional Expansion

Jacquelyn Melinek

<div id="highlights-block_610ae8366dbe2" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The company was seeded and co-founded by digital assets group Everest Ventures Group and and TT Bond Partners, which is the boutique advisory firm of Jonathan Bond, son of the former HSBC Chairman Sir John Bond</li>
 <li>The company’s strategy is to target the segments of investors currently underserved by existing solutions in the marketplace, said Yang He, co-founder and CEO</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Digital asset investment platform Aspen Digital has secured $8.8 million in pre-Series A funding as it continues to build solutions for the growing demand of institutional investments in the crypto space, the company said in a statement.&nbsp;



The financing round was led by Liberty City Ventures and RIT Capital Partners, the investment trust founded by Jacob Rothschild, a British investment banker and member of the prominent Rothschild banking family. Additional investors include Cherubic Ventures, Token Bay Capital, Somerley Capital, and Chatchaval Jiaravanon &amp; Chaval Jiaravanon.&nbsp;



The company was seeded and co-founded by digital assets group Everest Ventures Group and and TT Bond Partners, which is the boutique advisory firm of Jonathan Bond, son of the former HSBC Chairman Sir John Bond. 



Aspen’s platform is tailored to asset managers, institutional investors and other professional investors through a single account, which brings together dozens of digital assets service providers like FTX, Celsius Network, Hex Trust and others. Through their accounts, users can trade, grow yield and automate investments, the company said.&nbsp;



“Asset managers and family offices manage generational wealth, their primary goal is to manage risk by constructing a portfolio of diversified assets that will perform across economic cycles,” said Yang He, co-founder and CEO of Aspen in an email to Blockworks.&nbsp;



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="360" height="240" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Yang-He-Co-founder-of-Aspen-Digital-2-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6158" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Yang-He-Co-founder-of-Aspen-Digital-2-1.jpg?w=360 360w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Yang-He-Co-founder-of-Aspen-Digital-2-1.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Yang-He-Co-founder-of-Aspen-Digital-2-1.jpg?w=329 329w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Yang-He-Co-founder-of-Aspen-Digital-2-1.jpg?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px" /><figcaption>Yang He, Co-founder of Aspen Digital</figcaption></figure></div>



Digital assets are quickly maturing and becoming a new asset class and the main driving force for investors is the need to create a diversified portfolio and relentless search for risk-adjusted returns, He said.



The company is headquartered in Hong Kong, but plans to use the new funding to create a second headquarters and expand the team in London, which will serve clients in Europe and the Middle East. In the future, the company plans to establish a Singapore office to target the Southeast Asian market, which is continuously growing in the crypto space.&nbsp;



The company’s strategy is to target the segments of investors currently underserved by existing solutions in the marketplace, He said. Right now, the focus is either on serving large institutional organizations like <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/nydig-and-ncr-bringing-bitcoin-to-the-people/">NYDIG</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/anchorage-raises-80-million-as-banks-seek-to-solidify-bitcoin-strategies/">Anchorage</a> Digital or appealing to the mass retail audience through applications like Coinbase and Binance, He added.&nbsp;



“There is an underserved white space where <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/culture-and-crypto-collide-in-asian-family-offices/">family offices</a> and asset managers are increasingly looking to create a diversified crypto portfolio, that’s where we are targeting,” He said.&nbsp;



In the future, Aspen plans to have additional funding rounds post product launch and after it has gained more traction.&nbsp;



“I don’t know for certain where crypto will go in the end, but what I do know is that crypto is quickly becoming a new, innovative asset class that can no longer be ignored by institutions,” He said. “We are here to help make digital assets investing more accessible by creating a platform that would give asset managers a single portal to create a diversified crypto portfolio.”



Want more investor-focused content on digital assets?&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/digital-asset-summit-2021-2/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Join us</a>&nbsp;September 13th and 14th for the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) in NYC. Use code ARTICLE for $75 off your ticket.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/digital-asset-summit-2021-2/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Buy it now</a>.