The cryptocurrency platform will use the funds to advance the decentralised finance (DeFi)-as-a-service product it has been working on
Crypto activity in the Asian region has been foiled by the crackdown on digital asset platforms and crypto-related entities in Korea and the clampdown on mining firms in China. That, however, hasn’t prevented firms from investing in platforms operating in the region. Singapore-based digital assets custody and management platform Cobo revealed yesterday it had completed a $40 million Series B funding round at an undisclosed valuation.
The fundraising was spearheaded by A&T Capital, IMO Ventures and DST Global. It follows a $13 million Series A funding round completed in October 2018 that DHVC and Wu Capital led. The start-up revealed it would direct the capital from the latest funding into developing its decentralised finance (DeFi) offering that the firm claims will be a one-stop shop for institutional investors.
According to the crypto asset management firm, the product will grant institutions access to DeFi protocols, allowing them to get returns in a compliant but straightforward way. Cobo expounded on the offering, adding that institutional clients would not need to deal with the complexities around getting exposure to DeFi projects.
Cobo, which started as a blockchain infrastructure provider, has been working on fully relocating its headquarters from China’s capital to Singapore. The company added that a fraction of the funding will go into obtaining licences and authorisation for the product to enter the market. Essentially, the funding will help the company meet the governing guidelines, including anti-money laundering ones.
“With interest in the crypto revolution soaring across Asia, it’s high time to expand blockchain infrastructures to meet the rising demand, especially as we’re seeing growing enthusiasm among institutions,” observed Mao Shixing, Cobo’s co-founder. “In the past, we’d witnessed crypto applications evolve from Bitcoin to DeFi and now NFTs. In due time, I even foresee metaverses will be next to be developed on the blockchain. So, looking ahead, we have the foundational infrastructure in place that will enable us to serve 1,000 institutional investors.”
Cobo’s offering stands to be the first DeFi-as-a-service (DaaS) product. The firm also offers various services, including crypto custody, staking and trading. At present, it serves more than 300 institutional clients in the Asia-Pacific market. Some of its clients are cryptocurrency mining pool F2Pool, digital assets derivatives trading platform Deribit, and digital assets trading platform BitMart. Since its establishment in 2017, it has completed transactions totalling $20 billion and currently has nearly $1 billion in assets under custody.
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