The institutional crypto trading platform Elwood Technologies, established by billionaire British hedge fund manager Alan Howard, has raised $70 million in a Series A fundraising round led by Goldman Sachs and Barclays. The Financial Times reported that crypto-friendly German bank Commerzbank, crypto investment management Galaxy Digital, and Dawn Capital had joined the round. The company was valued at roughly $500 million during the fundraising round.
Goldman Sachs’ investment signifies the bank’s further entry into digital assets. In early May, the investment bank was the first to provide cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase a loan secured by Bitcoin (BTC). It has long been interested in the area, and in March referred to digital assets and the Metaverse as “megatrends.”
Elwood Technologies offers institutional investors a crypto portfolio management solution that includes crypto market data and trading infrastructure, as well as an interface that interfaces to crypto exchanges, liquidity providers, and custodians. Elwood Technologies CEO James Stickland described the fundraising as another evidence of crypto’s sustainability.
Despite the recent decline in cryptocurrency markets, Elwood believes traditional financial institutions such as hedge funds and banks will be ready to invest in cryptocurrencies. Elwood’s investment round was already set in motion before the recent decrease in pricing, which has seen the whole crypto market valuation drop by about 15% since May 9.
Furthermore, Alan Howard, who was the primary investor before the Series A investment, will retain a majority stake in Elwood Technologies. In September 2021, Howard co-founded the hedge fund Brevan Howard, which started its crypto investing subsidiary “BH Digital.”