Anchorage raises $350m to enhance infrastructure for institutional crypto
“This funding positions Anchorage Digital to meet the unprecedented institutional demand for this rapidly evolving market”
Anchorage Digital has raised $350 million in a Series D funding round led by global investment firm KKR that values the digital asset exchange at more than $3 billion.
In January, the crypto-native company made the headlines for receiving a banking charter from the Office of the Comptroller (OCC).
Custody, trading, financing, staking, governance
Having begun as a custodian, Anchorage has built a robust suite of additional services such as secure trading, financing, staking, and governance.
The aim is to bring institutional participants to the emerging asset class that is crypto. The $350 million in funds raised this week will be used to enhance its infrastructure solutions for global financial firms and fintech innovators.
Anchorage will also invest to accelerate and simplify clients’ engagement with the latest in crypto innovation and increase the size of its team to continue to expand product offerings and grow its client base.
Diogo Mónica, President and Co-Founder of Anchorage Digital, commented: “As more and more institutions look to add crypto services into their offerings, we find ourselves at an inflection point. This funding positions Anchorage Digital to meet the unprecedented institutional demand for this rapidly evolving market. We’re grateful that KKR and this wider group of investors shares our vision to expand regulated institutional access to digital assets.”
Will be a crucial part of the digital asset infrastructure
The fundraiser also included investments from top industry names such as Goldman Sachs, Alameda Research, Andreessen Horowitz, Apollo credit funds, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Blockchain Capital, Delta Blockchain Fund, Elad Gil, GIC, GoldenTree Asset Management, Innovius Capital, Kraken, Lux Capital, PayPal Ventures, Senator Investment Group, Standard Investments, Thoma Bravo, and Wellington Management.
As to KKR, the leading investor in this round, has pledged its funds through its Next Generation Technology Growth Fund II, a fund dedicated to growth equity investment opportunities in the technology space.
Ben Pederson, Senior Leader on KKR’s Technology Growth Equity team, said: “As a pioneer in enabling institutional investors to access digital assets, Anchorage has built a best in class, institutional grade digital asset platform that combines the best practices of both modern security and usability. We are thrilled to lead this Series D round and work with Diogo, Nathan and their talented team as they continue to support the institutional adoption of digital assets through their differentiated, regulated and integrated suite of solutions.”
Oli Harris, Head of North America Digital Assets at Goldman Sachs, added: “We are certain Anchorage will be a crucial part of the digital asset infrastructure and we are excited to be an investor.”
Anchorage experienced a very dynamic year of growth in 2021, with significant milestones including receiving a federal banking charter from the OCC, announcing an $80 million Series C round, facilitating Visa’s purchase of one of the most popular series of NFTs, Cryptopunk #7610, growing headcount by 175% to date in 2021, and business growth in excess of 800% for each of the past two years.
