Palo Alto-based BitGo, the digital asset service and security provider today announced the close of its $42.5 million Series B financing, led by Valor Equity Partners with participation from David Sacks, Bill Lee, and DRW. The funding will be used to accelerate the momentum of its technology among institutional investors. The company, which already powers $8 billion in digital transactions per month, has become an indispensable financial services partner to institutions worldwide.
A growing customer base, including CME Group and The Royal Mint, leverage BitGo’s technology to add digital currencies to their global product mix.
Individuals and funds participating in BitGo’s Series B have invested in every stage of companies that fundamentally changed industries, including Airbnb, Facebook, SpaceX, and Tesla. Antonio Gracias, Founder, Managing Partner, and Chief Investment Officer of Valor Equity Partners and board member at Tesla and SpaceX will join BitGo’s board of directors. David Sacks, Founder/CEO of Yammer and original COO and product leader of PayPal, also joins the board.
“We’ve crossed the tipping point for Bitcoin and other digital currencies, which have transitioned from experiments to front page news. BitGo gives institutions and custodians a solid technology base to offer new digital investment opportunities, products, and services. We have been the go-to service for exchanges, hedge funds, trusts, and businesses for years, now we are expanding our secure and compliant technology to build out an advanced financial ecosystem for investors to work with to make buying, storing, and trading digital assets as easy as possible.”
“BitGo is changing the way that digital currency is secured. Institutions can now confidently trust in the security of their digital assets thanks to BitGo, as can their custodial partners,” said Antonio Gracias, Founder and Chief Investment at Valor Equity Partners. “We’re thrilled to be a part of a company that is changing the way that financial
services organizations view digital currency.”
“BitGo has a long history of working with large institutions that need the highest-grade security, compliance, cold storage, multi-key management, and more,” said Bill Lee, Chairman of the Board at BitGo. “We are thrilled to bring on top-notch executives and the expertise of investment legends like Don Wilson at DRW to aggressively expand on BitGo’s leading position with institutional investors.”
BitGo’s technology is a catalyst that allows custodial institutions to extend new offerings to Wall Street and Main Street, and the company has already realized success with several custodial partners. One example is Kingdom Trust, a custodian who services US clients and holds custody of over $12 billion in assets. As a federally approved custodian according to IRS Code Title 26 Sec. 408, Kingdom Trust can offer Bitcoin IRA and allow retirement investors to build positions in cryptocurrencies just as they do in alternative assets like real estate or precious
metals.
“Being custodian for the assets of clients of registered investment advisors, broker-dealers and investment sponsors comes with great responsibility in an ever-changing regulatory environment,” said Matt Jennings, CEO at Kingdom Trust. “BitGo allows us to bring digital currency – a go-to investment for many investors – alongside stocks, bonds and mutual funds in our retirement offerings with the same security and trust that we expect from institutional-grade partners.”