Crypto Finance AG Closes Series B Funding Round At $14.5 Million

Crypto Finance AG, a Swiss holding company, has closed its Series B funding round after gaining $14.5 million through it. The round itself was co-led by Lingfeng Capital, a Beijing-based private equity firm, as well as Rainer-Marc Frey, a Swiss Investor, and QBN Capital, based in Hong Kong.

Aiming For Broker-Dealer Licensing

The round itself started in September of 2019 and was initially slated to be closed two weeks before this Thursday. However, this closing time was delayed due to the massive financial uncertainties that the COVID-19 pandemic had created. This was revealed by Jan Brzezek, the CEO of Crypto Finance AG when he did a phone interview some time ago.

Crypto Finance AG is the operator of three subsidiaries. These subsidiaries are Crypto Storage AG, Crypto Fund AG, as well as Crypto Broker AG. Brzezek revealed that the Series B funds would be leveraged to fulfill the requirements of capital in order to obtain a broker-dealer license with FINMA, the Swiss financial regulator. While Crypto Fund AG already received its FINMA license back in October of 2018, its sister-firm, Crypto Broker AG, has yet to gain one.

Serving Traditional Partners

With this in mind, Brzezek explained that the subsidiary is standing in the final stretch of obtaining the license. Should Crypto Broker AG gain the license, it will be capable of coordinating trades in cryptocurrency for heavyweight players in the regulated markets, banks being a prime example. As Brzezek explained the process has taken 18 months but seems to be close to fruition.

Brzezek stated that his company served as a middle-man of sorts for more traditional-styled financial institutions. He explained that these institutions have no desire to struggle with the hassle of connecting variuos cryptocurrency exchanges and brokers to them directly. Instead, they opt to connect their API or their order management systems to Brzezek’s company’s infrastructure, facilitating trades across the world through that.

Future Integration

Brzezek further explained that his firm doesn’t serve as a prime broker, such as Cumberland or Genesis Capital. Instead, he explained that his firm offers “best execution,” a feature highly valued by traditional players, as they search for small price spreads within market orders.

The world is slowly starting to accept the crypto industry at large, and it seems that even the old banking firms are taking an interest. With Crypto Broker AG serving as a way for these firms to make a quick route to crypto integration, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes as mainstream as forex.