Barclays and Goldman Sachs Stake in Alan Howard’s Crypto Network
In a new bet on the mainstream adoption of digital assets, Goldman Sachs and Barclays have invested in Elwood Technologies. Elwood is a crypto trading platform founded by British hedge fund billionaire Alan Howard.
Elwood Technologies received $70 million from this new round of funding. Other institutions joined in the fundraising round. They included Down Capital, Commerzbank AG’s venture arm, and Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd, a crypto merchant bank.
The CEO of Elwood Technologies, James Stickland, has attributed this investment to the bright future of crypto.
“Investors who don’t expect huge profits in 15 minutes deal with us.” They’re putting money into the system.” Stickland went further, “I think it’s another affirmation of the long-term viability of crypto,” he said.
After acquiring new cash, Elwood aims to reshape its operations with the acquired cash. Elwood was to provide institutional investors with asset management and crypto fund portfolios.
Goldman Sachs, a Wall Street-backed American lender, is leading the funding round for Elwood. Besides, it has added another crypto-centric step to the many others it has taken in recent days.
In April, the 153-year-old bank provided its first-ever Bitcoin-backed loan to mainstream crypto use. They issued the loan to Coinbase, a cryptocurrency trading platform.
Crypto investments have not stopped despite recent market declines
Pre-Series B funding round of KuCoin raised $150 million (roughly Rs. 1,158 crores) recently from Singapore-based crypto exchange KuCoin.
The CEO of crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, bought 7.6 percent of the Robinhood crypto stock exchange last week.
Dragonfly Capital, a venture capital firm specializing in crypto startups, has also vowed to launch its fund valued at $650 million.
There is a rise in institutional investment in cryptocurrency. According to market analysts, institutional investors will give the crypto industry more credibility.
