Visa and Blockchain Capital invest 40 million USD in Anchorage crypto custodian

Anchorage seeks to advance institutional participation in the digital asset class. They have started by solving the biggest problem facing our industry: making it safe for institutions to hold and use crypto. Since starting down this path in 2017 Anchorage has built the most secure digital asset custody solution on the market, and on-boarded some of the leading institutional investors in the space as clients, including Blockchain Capital, Polychain, Paradigm, and a16z crypto.

On July 10^th 2019, Anchorage raised a $40 million Series B to accelerate the growth of crypto finance. Anchorage states in their medium blog, “We’re committed to working with investors who will be strategic partners in advancing our mission, which is why this round was led by Blockchain Capital, the leading venture capital firm dedicated to innovations in blockchain. Blockchain Capital has deep expertise in crypto custody, not just as a VC investor but also as a customer.”

“We believe Anchorage is the safest place to hold digital assets, having modernized crypto custody beyond physical cold storage with advanced security engineering,” said P. Bart Stephens, Co-founder & Managing Partner at Blockchain Capital. “As our industry evolves, a growing number of crypto networks will depend on asset holders’ active participation in staking and governance. Anchorage’s next generation custody solution is ideally positioned to help investors keep up with the future direction of crypto networks. We are leading this investment because we believe Anchorage will have a transformative impact on the financial world.”

Alongside Blockchain Capital, Visa has invested as well. Anchorage adds, “ As a custodian, our work is focused on building financial plumbing that other companies depend on for their operations to run smoothly. In this regard we have always looked at Visa as a model: Visa was “fintech” before the term existed, and has long been on the vanguard of financial infrastructure.”

“This investment is consistent with Visa’s global strategy to partner with and invest in emerging fintech companies,” said Terry Angelos, SVP and Head of Fintech at Visa Inc. “We’re pleased to add Anchorage to our growing investment portfolio.”

For too many investors, custody is a barrier to action: transfers are painful and slow, and custody is disconnected from other service offerings. Anchorage believes custody should integrate with a full menu of financial services, so investors can operate with the least friction possible.