The global head of digital assets at Goldman Sachs has indicated that the demand for cryptos from institutions is growing, and the company is broadening its market capabilities to cater to it.
Gooldman Sachs, together with Barclays Bank, has joined the USD 70 million Series A funding round for institutional crypto trading platform Elwood Technologies, which was founded by the British hedge manager, and billionaire Alan Howard.
Also part of the round is Commerzbank (a crypto-friendly German bank), Galaxy Digital (a crypto manager), and Dawn Capital, according to the Financial Times report on Sunday. The company was valued at around USD 500 million by the Fundraising round.
Elwood Technologies Expects Institutional Investment in Cryptos to Increase
Even with the recent price fall in the crypto market, Elwood is of the view that traditional institutions will still be interested in cryptos. The funding round was agreed on well before the crypto prices took a downturn, resulting in about 15% of the market cap getting wiped off since 9th May 2022.
According to James Stickland, the CEO of Elwood Technologies, the fundraising was an indication of validation of the longevity of cryptos despite the current bearish trend. Here is what he said:
“We’re getting investment from financial institutions that aren’t expecting to get massive returns in 15 minutes. They’re investing in the infrastructure, I think it’s a reassurance message.”
The funding from Goldman Sachs indicates the bank’s continued growth into crypto assets. The bank hit the headlines early in May 2022 for being the first one to offer loans backed with BTC to Coinbase. Earlier on in March, the bank referred to digital assets and metaverse as the new “megatrends.”
Elwood Technologies will remain majority-owned by Alan Howard, the main investor before the Series A round. He co-founded the hedge fund known as Brevan Howard, which started its crypto investment division BH Digital in 2021.
