Katherine Ross

BitGo wants to reduce the “redundancy of exchanges.”



In partnership with Copper, international institutions will have the choice to access certain spot and derivative exchanges from cold storage. The partnership will allow the two to reduce the redundancy of having exchanges integrate with multiple custodians.



A press release on the announcement names ByBit, OKX, Bitfinex and Bitstamp as a few of the exchanges accessible.



“ClearLoop continues to be an important product for offshore institutional investors for mitigating counterparty risk and capital efficiency. With strong ecosystem partnerships, like BitGo, and the right architecture, we can finally see a maturation of distributed financial market infrastructure,” said Copper’s CEO Dmitry Tokarev.



Put simply, BitGo aims to “intentionally” separate “regulated custody from being able to still access liquidity in the market.”&nbsp;



BitGo seeks to marry the “cold storage ability to manage those assets in a way that meets the needs of regulators but also allows those assets to stay connected to the marketplace,” BitGo’s managing director Matt Ballensweig told Blockworks.



The FTX collapse spooked both investors and institutions and though it’s been a year — with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ftx-bankrupt-hacked-investigated-a-timeline-of-events">anniversary of the bankruptcy announcement on Nov. 11</a> — some institutions and even retail investors are still reeling from the aftereffects.



The FTX chapter, however, is hopefully coming to a close with <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sam-bankman-fried-found-guilty">former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried</a> found guilty of fraud and money laundering.



Ballensweig told Blockworks that <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/bitgo">BitGo</a> — alongside many in crypto — wants to avoid another <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/ftx">FTX</a>.



“We’re exchange agnostic,” he said. “We&#8217;re not partial to a certain exchange, whereas, if you&#8217;re trading directly on the exchange, or that exchange has its own custody, or the exchange has its own capital market services, then then you&#8217;re obviously subject to the risk of that platform.”



As for who would be interested: Ballensweig confirmed that BitGo is “talking to a lot of hedge funds internationally about coming into the space for the first time.” He added that the firm has spoken to liquidity providers and market makers as well.



“This is a way to increase the overall pie globally amongst traditional firms that are…more established and derisk market structure in traditional assets. And that&#8217;s kind of what we&#8217;re recreating in crypto,” Ballenswig said.



The overall crypto market is working to put FTX fully in the rearview, and focusing more on general adoption. One of the primary focuses — shown by how quickly both investors and the markets jumped at a <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-media-slow-thoughtful-facts">now-debunked post about BlackRock’s ETF approval</a> — are spot bitcoin ETFs. There’s no clear indication if the Securities and Exchange Commission will approve the ETF applications, but <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-etf-price-rally">analysts such as Eric Balchunas</a> and James Seyffart feel optimistic.



Ballensweig admitted that ETF approval is “top of mind for us.”



“At this point, there’s no doubt the market has legs. There’s no doubt we’re at the precipice of mainstream adoption…Obviously, that&#8217;s gonna be the global catalyst that gets a ton of new eyes looking at the space.”&nbsp;



The company, outside of the new partnership, <a href="https://www.prweb.com/releases/bitgo-receives-crypto-custody-license-from-german-federal-financial-supervisory-authority-bafin-301974575.html">received</a> a license from the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) earlier this week.



Prior to the license, BitGo operated in Germany under BaFin supervision as part of a “transitional regime.”



Ballensweig said that BitGo, going forward, is seeking to “broaden our reach into different segments of the market.” His focus is Go Network, the settlement network offered by the custodian.&nbsp;



“We&#8217;re really trying to make Go Network, I would say, the primary utility layer that sits inside a qualified custodian for existing but mostly new market participants.”



Updated Nov. 3, 2023 at 4:36 pm ET: Added additional context throughout.



Updated Nov. 3, 2023 at 1:30 pm ET: Added comment from Copper CEO Dmitry Tokarev.



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BitGo wants to be ‘exchange agnostic’ as a qualified custodian

Bessie Liu

<div id="highlights-block_6356d442414d5" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Uniswap Labs secured the largest amount of funding to ever go to a DeFi protocol in its latest Series B round led by Polychain Capital</li>
 <li>Celestia closed a $55 million deal to develop the modular blockchain scaling technology</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Venture dollars continue to flow into cryptocurrency startups, even as markets remain largely muted.



Most notably, Uniswap Labs — the team behind the <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/dex" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">largest</a> decentralized exchange (DEX), Uniswap — secured <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/uniswap-labs-valued-at-1-6b-after-165m-funding-round/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$165 million</a> in a Series B round led by Polychain Capital, with participation from other investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, SV Angel and Variant.



This fundraise, which is the largest-ever funding round for a DeFi protocol, brings Uniswap’s total valuation to $1.66 billion, sources familiar with the matter confirmed with Blockworks.&nbsp;



As Uniswap is not yet profitable, founder Hayden Adams said the company plans to tap the capital influx to expand products in a bid to become financially sustainable.



Crypto custodian Copper, meanwhile, drummed up <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/copper-in-midst-of-196m-funding-round/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$196 million</a> as part of its ongoing Series C round.&nbsp;



The overall funding target for Copper has not been publicly determined. But a spokesperson told Blockworks the company has raised $181 million from new and existing shareholders. It also received a convertible debt-to-equity loan good for $15 million.&nbsp;



Copper’s latest fundraise was led by Barclays Ventures and Tiger Global Management. The company has previously received backing from Alan Howard, Dawn Capital and Target Global.&nbsp;



On a smaller scale, Web3 infrastructure companies are also being eyed by investors.&nbsp;



Chainsafe, a firm focused on protocol implementation and cryptographic technology, secured $18.75 million in a Series A led by Round13.&nbsp;



Other investors who participated in the round include NGC Ventures, HashKey Capital, Sfermion, Jsquare, ConsenSys, Digital Finance Group and Fenbushi Capital. The funding will allow ChainSafe to accelerate its plans to develop Web3 infrastructure for gaming.



Scaling startup Celestia was also on investors&#8217; radars, closing a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celestia-raises-55-million-for-new-modular-blockchain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$55 million deal </a>to continue the development of modular blockchain technology.



The round was led by Bain Capital Crypto and Polychain Capital, with participation from Spartan Group, FTX Ventures and Jump Crypto.&nbsp;



Other notable recent funding rounds include:



<ul><li>Blockchain development platform Tatum secured $41.5 million in a Series A round led by 3VC.</li><li>Singaporean crypto investment startup Pillow raised a $18.1 million Series A co-led by Accel and Quona Capital.</li><li>DeFi-focused hedge fund Edge Capital raises two separate funds of $66.8 million.</li><li>Shardeum, a sharded layer-1 blockchain based on the Ethereum virtual machine, closed a $18.2 million seed round at a $199 million valuation.</li></ul>



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Funding Roundup: Blockchain Tech Continues To Grab VC Interest

Ben Strack

<div id="highlights-block_634703f4d378e" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Copper closed a $50 million funding round co-led by Dawn Capital and Target Global in May 2021 </li>
 <li>The firm hired former Bank of America Merrill Lynch pros in April to build out its prime infrastructure offerings</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



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.&nbsp;



The firm raised $181 million from new and existing shareholders as of June, as well as a convertible loan note of $15 million, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-12/crypto-custodian-copper-raises-196-million-in-series-c-funding-round" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg reported Wednesday</a>. 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.&nbsp;



The company brought aboard ex-Citi executive Sabrina Wilson as chief operating officer in March and hired <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/copper-hires-five-former-staff-from-bank-of-america/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">five former Bank of America Merrill Lynch employees</a> 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, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/copper-chief-risk-officer-says-cellular-explosion-will-accelerate-crypto-usage/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Neill told Blockworks</a> 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.



<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-18/crypto-trading-firm-copper-seeks-funds-valuing-it-at-3-billion#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg reported</a> 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, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/barclays-snaps-up-stake-in-2bn-cryptocurrency-firm-copper-12658295" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sky News</a> reported in July.



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Copper in Midst of $196M Funding Round

<div id="highlights-block_633d73c1258ee" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>First nation to commit to a central bank digital currency will start “an avalanche of very similar types of evolution,” Tim Neill says</li>
 <li>Non-crypto firms such as Mastercard will be unable to pivot at a speed that blockchain technology demands, according to the Copper executive</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The new chief risk officer at Copper is looking to put his extensive traditional finance background to work to help the crypto custodian mix the best of banking operations with a DeFi slant.



Tim Neill comes from Mastercard, where he helped the financial services giant bolster its real-time payments business. He joined the company through Mastercard’s acquisition of payment systems builder VocaLink in 2016 for roughly $920 million.&nbsp;



A former executive at Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and London Stock Exchange Group, Neill has focused on payments, open banking, financial services and technology over the course of his career.



Founded by Dmitry Tokarev in 2018, Copper provides custody, prime brokerage and settlement services to institutional investors.&nbsp;



Neill’s hire followed the company <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/copper-hires-five-former-staff-from-bank-of-america/">bringing aboard five former Bank of America Merrill Lynch employees</a> to lead the expansion of its prime infrastructure offerings. Copper also hired former Citi executive Sabrina Wilson — to whom Neill will report — as chief operating officer.



Neill sat down with Blockworks for an interview about what he is keeping an eye on in his new role and what trends he is seeing in the broader crypto space.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Blockworks: What were you focused on at Mastercard?



Neill: I was running the [real-time] payments business, and then we decided to diversify even further, and we started getting into digital assets, CBDCs, cross-border payments…The approach to build core real-time payment systems really becomes the foundational rail with which to add on all these services.



One of the things I became quite passionate about through that time at Mastercard was looking at financial inclusion.



You have to be able to democratize the access to financial services for parts of the world that simply won’t be able to get what we consider to be mature market access vehicles. What’s happened over the recent years is an explosion in cellular connectivity across these emerging markets and frontier markets.



Blockworks: How does this relate to crypto?



Neill: When you start looking at democratizing financial payment vehicles, that inevitably takes you down the path toward looking to be able to connect those people through real-time banking payment solutions on a cellular platform.



One of the things that became hugely obvious to me is that digital assets, in their various forms and functions, suddenly get presented to this community that previously has had virtually zero exposure to banking options.



So you can be a subsistence farmer in the hillsides of Thailand and you can be trading on eToro. You can be deciding that you actually want to drop more money into [a cryptoasset]…and you’re doing it through your smartphone and the trade is in real time.



Blockworks: Why did you join Copper in this role?



Neill: All of that tech stack [at Mastercard] fascinated me, and we were doing lots of work on being able to convert our core payments rails at a national level into different forms of enablement through digital asset activity.



One of the challenges that Mastercard will have — and I saw the same challenges at Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank — is that they are big, old institutions that have been making cookies a certain way for 50 years, and suddenly now they have to pivot to quite a different business model. The challenge for them is going to be that they are bound by often pre-existing banking legislation and restrictions that prohibit their ability to pivot at a speed that the technology demands.



One of the reasons Copper appealed to me…is the fact that it’s purpose-built. It is a specialist shop that looks at just digital assets.



Another thing I saw that also spurred my interest in coming over to Copper was that Covid accelerated that take-up of cellular-based democratization of financial inclusion.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="533" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-10-05-Tim-Neill-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-33533" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-10-05-Tim-Neill-1.png?w=800 800w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-10-05-Tim-Neill-1.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-10-05-Tim-Neill-1.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-10-05-Tim-Neill-1.png?w=386 386w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-10-05-Tim-Neill-1.png?w=392 392w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-10-05-Tim-Neill-1.png?w=329 329w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-10-05-Tim-Neill-1.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-10-05-Tim-Neill-1.png?w=50 50w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption>Tim Neill, Copper Chief Risk Officer</figcaption></figure>



Blockworks: What will you be most focused on at Copper?



Neill: Our plan is to take the best bits of banking and financial operations, but cut that against a DeFi approach. That is where we need to use those particular risk governance aspects that help support the business and give a high level of trust for our clients.



We basically need to drive an agenda where we help really set a theme and a tone within the industry. We need to look at starting to publish statements and whitepapers and approaches to things like custody services in this new style of service provision.



And the way that we can do that really is by utilizing some of the brain work of the folks that are inside the shop that have come from the big houses and have been doing it for many years and turn that into a pragmatic digital assets methodology that will satisfy the client expectations but also will meet the legislation that’s due to come out.



We’re waiting for legislation. We want it to come, because that gives us the guide rails that we need. But in the interim, what we fully intend to do is to interact with the regulators and the legislators and talk to them and understand what they expect from us, so we can do it the right way early. And then my hope is that we can then help influence the way that should be developed.



[Our clients] are now asking us about the technology stack that we’re intending to use, and they’re interested in being able to utilize that as a potential service provider. Similar to the way big institutions struggle to change their business model very fast, because we’re building it from scratch, in theory we build it faster, better and more prescribed.



Blockworks: What do you expect to see from a crypto regulation standpoint?



Neill: What I’m hoping to see legislative-wise is a common-sense approach using the technology that’s in place today. So we’re going to see the modernization of things like blockchain enablement.



The reality is that we wanted to use enough that we’re reflective of the clients’ expectations, but we’re not looking to add bureaucratic noise on top of what’s already there. Anyone who works in banking and anyone who has to deal with banks, which is the majority of the mature markets, finds it hugely frustrating for a bunch of reasons.



A lot of that’s come about because there’s been issues in the past with the way banks have managed themselves. Because we’re looking at blockchain enablement and distributed ledger technologies, many of those fundamental issues go away — things like man-in-the-middle attacks or spoof ID-type approaches and KYC elements — because of the blockchain methodology being used.



So what I’m hoping for is that the legislation reflects that, and we want to try to influence that conversation by supporting those regulators and talking to them about what we’re building, how we think it should run, creating conversations between us and counterparties around the world and establishing a footprint in those territories as a licensed business to make a statement to those regulators that we mean business.



Blockworks: What part of the space do you have your eye on going forward?&nbsp;



Neill: I want to see who’s going to lead the race on CBDCs. Which nation-state is going to come forward, hammer that peg into the ground, and say we are pegging against X currency, and it’s going to look like this, it’s going to operate like this?&nbsp;



When that first central bank comes forward and makes that statement, I think you’ll see an avalanche of very similar types of evolution take place across the central bank layers.&nbsp;



Blockworks: Who do you expect could be first?



Neill: I really do believe they’re all waiting for someone else to hammer in the first peg…whether it’s the Singaporeans, whether it’s going to be the Fed. It could be an outlier — a France or a Denmark — or it could even be wider afield out of Africa.



Many of the central banks particularly across the [Gulf Cooperation Council] states — the UAE, Saudi, Qatar — are very advanced, and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them pops up first with perhaps something like an oil and gas pegging or a gold alignment. That would make a lot of sense, and you could see how they could leverage that.



That’s a very exciting opportunity for us, because all of a sudden we can start talking about setting a custody service against this whole new digital agenda.&nbsp;



This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.



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Copper Chief Risk Officer Says ‘Cellular Explosion’ Will Accelerate Crypto Usage

Sebastian Sinclair

<div id="highlights-block_62dde97d1c654" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Despite a declining global appetite for risk-on assets, Copper has managed to draw investment from one of the world&#8217;s most recognizable banks</li>
 <li>Barclays has reportedly invested &#8220;millions of dollars&#8221; according to a report, though the figure is not expected to be a considerable sum</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



UK-based multinational banking giant Barclays has reportedly bought into crypto custody firm Copper&#8217;s latest raise, concluding long-standing talks with investors in the round which had been delayed since November.



As part of the round, Barclays has invested an undisclosed sum somewhere in the &#8220;millions of dollars,&#8221; <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/barclays-snaps-up-stake-in-2bn-cryptocurrency-firm-copper-12658295" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sky News</a> reported Sunday. It is expected the raise will be finalized in the coming days.



It concludes a more than nine-month delay to its $500 million Series C funding round where Copper had sought a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-18/crypto-trading-firm-copper-seeks-funds-valuing-it-at-3-billion#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$3 billion valuation</a>. A declining crypto market and waning investor interest have reduced that figure to $2 billion.



Barclays became the first bank in the UK to support crypto, namely bitcoin, back in 2015 by coaxing charities to accept the nascent asset class as a form of donations. The bank has often had a checkered past with the industry including denying its services to powerhouse exchange providers Binance and Coinbase.



Delays stemming from Copper&#8217;s bout with the UK&#8217;s Financial Conduct Authority over the country&#8217;s <a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/financial-crime/cryptoassets-aml-ctf-regime#revisions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Temporary Registration Regime</a> had muddied investor proceedings, including with recurring investor Tiger Global.



<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/apr/17/cryptocurrency-firm-linked-to-philip-hammond-still-lacks-uk-approval-copper-technologies" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frustrations</a> over the UK financial watchdog&#8217;s rule, which required digital asset service providers to apply for temporary registration in order to continue trading, reached a fever pitch in March when Copper set up a hub in <a href="https://zg.chregister.ch/cr-portal/auszug/auszug.xhtml?uid=CHE-477.629.838#" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zug, Switzerland</a> following a partnership with global traditional custodian State Street.



Founded by Dmitry Tokarev in 2018, Copper provides custody, prime broking and settlement services to institutional investors. The firm previously raised $50 million via a <a href="https://copper.co/insights/crypto-scaleup-copper-co-secures-50-million-series-b-investment-co-led-by-dawn-capital-and-target-global" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Series B</a> funding round in June of last year with an undisclosed valuation.



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Barclays Takes Punt on Crypto Firm Copper in Latest Funding Round

<div id="highlights-block_62547eedcf888" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Michael Roberts will lead Copper’s new prime infrastructure team</li>
 <li>The appointments come after Copper hired a chief operating officer and chief legal officer last month</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Digital asset custodian Copper has hired five former Bank of America Merrill Lynch employees to lead the expansion of its prime infrastructure offerings. 



The appointees include Michael Roberts, Adam Groom, Paul Barham, Ben Carr and Ross Budgen, the company announced Monday. The new additions will report to Copper Chief Revenue Officer Boris Bohrer-Bilowitzki.



Roberts spent 16 years at Bank of America, according to his LinkedIn profile, most recently as a managing director and head of the bank’s prime platform for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He is now set to lead the new prime infrastructure team.



“I have watched Copper from afar for some years now and been continuously impressed at the speed and quality of the solutions they bring to market,” Roberts said in a statement. “Boris and the team understand the technology institutional investors want and need to pursue crypto strategies.”



Groom and Barham, who led relationship management and product development, respectively, for Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s prime platform in EMEA, join Roberts on the Copper team.&nbsp;



Carr and Budgen add expertise in product development, account management and analytics.



The ex-Bank of America Merrill Lynch members will help build Copper’s prime infrastructure offering with custody, collateral management and hedging services, a firm spokesperson told Blockworks in an email.&nbsp;



Founded in 2018, Copper offers custody, trading and settlement solutions for institutional investors across 450 cryptoassets and roughly 45 exchanges.



The planned expansion comes as more prime brokers join the Copper ecosystem and its ClearLoop network, according to the company. Launched in 2020, ClearLoop removes the need for institutional investors to transfer digital assets onto an exchange before being able to trade and includes collateral management for crypto derivatives.



The latest appointments come shortly after <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/latest-in-crypto-hiring-ftx-adds-gaming-partnerships-lead/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the company named</a> Sabrina Wilson as its chief operating officer and Carly Nuzbach Lowery as chief legal officer last month.  



Wilson was most recently global co-head of Citi’s futures, over-the-counter clearing and foreign exchange prime brokerage business. She has also served in various roles at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank.



Nuzbach Lowery joined Copper from Coinbase, where she was associate general counsel in London. Prior to that, she was senior legal counsel at Uber and Barclays.&nbsp;



The move is part of <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/?s=gone+crypto" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a larger migration</a> of talent from traditional finance to crypto. 



“While we have seen a couple of folks make this move, it appears to us — at the moment, at least — far from a trend,” Lawrence Lieberman, senior managing director at recruiting company The Orion Group, told Blockworks. “We have certainly had more crypto-related conversations than expected over the past few months. [There’s] lots of intrigue, but still enough uncertainty to make this a move only for the real risk-takers.”



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