PolySign, a crypto startup that offers custody, trading and administration infrastructure for institutions, has raised $53 million in a Series C funding round.
Investors in the round included Brevan Howard, a hedge fund co-founded by British billionaire Alan Howard; Cowen Digital, the crypto division of the investment bank Cowen; and GSR, a crypto trading firm and market maker, according to an announcement on Tuesday. There was no lead investor mentioned for the round.
Besides the equity funding, PolySign has also received a credit facility worth $25 million from private equity firm Boathouse Capital.
When asked why PolySign went for the credit facility instead of raising a bigger Series C round, CEO Jack McDonald told The Block in an interview that it was a “very deliberate” decision to raise debt for the first time. PolySign, in fact, raised more equity than it initially planned, he added.
“We have a lot of confidence in our business and in our future opportunities, so we did not want to” share more equity with investors, said McDonald.
PolySign started its fundraising efforts in the first quarter of this year and closed the round earlier this month, said McDonald.
With fresh capital in hand, PolySign aims to complete the acquisition of MG Stover that it announced in April, McDonald said. MG Stover is a crypto fund administrator providing investors accounting and reporting services. It claims to maintain over $40 billion in digital assets under administration.
PolySign also plans to expand its custody business that it operates via its subsidiary — Standard Custody & Trust Company — a regulated custodian by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
McDonald said PolySign plans to expand in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. As for product expansion, he said the firm is looking to support decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms within its infrastructure. There are currently 180 people working for PolySign and the firm is looking to add around 50 more people, said McDonald.
PolySign’s Series C funding round comes over a year after the firm raised also $53 million in Series B funding. McDonald declined to comment on the firm’s valuation with the latest round.
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Source: https://www.theblock.co/post/154508/polysign-raises-series-c-funding-crypto-infrastructure?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss