Barclays Invests Millions of Dollars in Crypto Custody Firm Copper

Global financial services provider Barclays PLC announced that it will purchase a multi-million dollar stake in crypto firm Copper.

London-headquartered Barclays will invest a few million dollars in the company as part of a new funding round for Copper Technologies (Switzerland) AG that will be completed in days, sources in London say. A spokesperson for Copper declined to comment as the funding round is ongoing.

Barclays had previously invested in Elwood Technologies, a provider of crypto trading software, in May 2022.

Former chancellor Philip Hammond serves as an adviser to Copper. This firm provides, amongst other services, custody, prime brokerage, and settlement services to institutional investors in cryptocurrencies. The company services over 400 clients, including traders, family offices, and crypto funds. It uses proprietary ClearLoop technology to link 45 cryptocurrency exchanges with immediate offline settlement over its integrated networks.

Copper downscales valuation

Amidst the euphoria of the 2021 crypto bull market, Copper looked to raise $500 million at a valuation of $3 billion in a Series C funding round but was locked in a fruitless tussle with U.K. regulators. It was in talks with Tiger Global, SoftBank Group, and Accel to participate in the financing, initially slated for November 2021.

It downscaled its ambition to $2 billion after securing regulatory approval in Switzerland through a Swiss entity in Zug in May. It became a member of the Swiss Financial Services Standard Association (‘VQF’) after meeting anti-money laundering requirements. VQF is a self-regulating organization authorized by the Financial Market Supervisory Authority in Switzerland.

Copper raised $50 million in Series B funding in an investment round co-led by business-to-business software venture capital firm Dawn Capital and Target Global.

Angel investors for the Series B round included LocalGlobe and MMC Ventures. London-based LocalGlobe has invested in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and metaverse companies. MMC Ventures’ investments include cloud infrastructure, digital health, and fintech startups.

Partnership with Holoride

Copper recently partnered with Munich-based Holoride, innovators of the first immersive in-vehicle media platform. Copper will provide custody services of Holoride’s $RIDE token, a pioneering brand-agnostic mobility token for transportation applications.

The RIDE token lives on the Elrond blockchain, with listings on gate.io, MEXC, and BitMart. Copper’s custody makes it easier for automotive, media, and other institutional players to manage RIDE tokens.

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