Qredo, a UK-based provider of decentralised digital asset management technology, completed an $80m series A round featuring cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and blockchain technology developers Terraform Labs and Ava Labs on Friday.
10T Holdings led the round at a $460m valuation and was also joined by Kingsway Capital, Raptor Group, GoldenTree Asset Management and HOF Capital, GMF Capital, Rovida Kruptos Assets, Tokentus Investment, Vectr Fintech, Raptor Group and Kestrel 0x1.
Nural Capital First Light, Liberty City Ventures and Alumni Ventures Blockchain Fund also contributed to the round while Coinbase made its investment through corporate venturing unit Coinbase Ventures.
Qredo has developed software infrastructure which allows financial institutions to streamline custody, access and settlement and cross-chain swaps for transactions involving cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Approximately $60m of the round was supplied through primary investment while the remaining $20m came from secondary sales. Qredo will use the capital to fuel its growth through future acquisitions, geographical expansion and development of additional functionality for retail users.
As cryptocurrencies have gained traction, momentum has been somewhat impeded by bottlenecks such as the lengthy transaction times on the blockchain.
Layer 2 architecture, which powers Qredo’s products, is designed to address such limitations without having to modify the blockchain’s base protocols, providing a speedier way to get things done, efficiency being crucial for cryptocurrencies to scale.
Qredo’s chief executive, Anthony Foy, said: “The fact we have won support from some of the biggest and smartest investors in crypto is a clear validation of Qredo’s long-term focus and mission.
“The Qredo solution provides institutions with a secure, cost-efficient and compliant way to engage fully with digital assets and [decentralised finance]. We are now in an excellent position to seize opportunities, take market share and demonstrate the powerful value of decentralised custody.”
Layer 2 product developers have been piling up the cash over the past year on both the Ethereum and Bitcoin blockchains. Blockchain scaling technology developer Offchain Labs, which develops layers on top of the Ethereum network, raised $120m across two 2021 rounds last year with backing from investors including quantitative trading firm Alameda Research.
Andreessen Horowitz led a $25m series A round for another Ethereum scaling technology developer, Optimism, in February 2021.
Coinbase had previously invested in Qredo through a June 2021 private token sale which hauled in over $16m. Blockchain technology developer Figment, crypto wallet developer Nexo and crypto derivatives market maker LedgerPrime also took part in the sale, along with Signum Capital, LD Capital and Accomplice.
The company had already received $11m in seed funding in a May 2021 round co-led by Gumi Cryptos, a subsidiary of mobile game publisher Gumi, with digital trading firm Kinetic, G1, Maven 11, Spartan Group and 1kx,
Financial services provider Celsius, crypto trader Deribit, digital asset market maker Wintermute, crypto financial services provider GSR, quantitative trading firm Kronos Research, crypto trading tool developer 3commas and blockchain auditor Quantstamp were also among the participants in the May round.
