It’s a hump day fund day, and capital is still flowing thick and fast into crypto-related projects this week, even if the market is looking a little unsure of itself due to various macro forces.

Yesterday, we touched on the massive US$1 billion funding round for the institutional Bitcoin broker NYDIG led by the US growth equity firm WestCap, which now gives the brokerage a whopping US$7 billion valuation.

And today, two more big crypto funding stories have emerged, proving global, big-money investment interest for the sector is as strong as ever right now…

 

Anchorage becomes a triple unicorn

Major crypto custody bank Anchorage has announced it’s closed a US$350 million, series D funding round, which values the Californian firm at more than US$3 billion.

Led by the New York-based global investment giant KKR, the round featured a host of other big participants including: Goldman Sachs, Alameda Research and Andreessen Horowitz, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, among others.

According to the announcement, it’s the first time KKR has directly invested in a company in the crypto industry.

“As a pioneer in enabling institutional investors to access digital assets, Anchorage has built a best in class, institutional grade digital asset platform that combines the best practices of both modern security and usability,” said Ben Pederson, Senior Leader on KKR’s Technology Growth Equity team.

 

As for the Goldman Sachs participation, it shows that the Wall Street herd is still pushing its way into the space.

Earlier this year, Anchorage became the first crypto firm to receive a federal banking charter from the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

The firm then raised US$80 million in a Series C round led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, among others.

As a sidenote, too, Anchorage is the company that helped facilitate payments giant Visa’s purchase of one of the most popular series of NFTs – Cryptopunk #7610.

 

Brinc and Animoca, moving into a Web3 future

Meanwhile, the play-to-earn gaming, NFT and metaverse heavyweight investor Animoca Brands just can’t keep out of the crypto news.

The Hong Kong-based, one-time ASX-listed company (it delisted in early 2020) has led a US$130 million series B funding round into the “venture accelerator” Brinc, which is also a Hong Kong firm.

The funds will be used to aid Brinc’s expansion into new locations and Web3, which is basically the decentralised version of the internet that much of the crypto industry is intent on building.

Brinc’s plans include blockchain-focused projects within decentralised finance (DeFi), gaming and more. The company says it has supported the growth of more than 200 startups since its launch in 2014.

According to a press release, the investment further grows the relationship between Brinc and Animoca Brands, which jointly unveiled the blockchain and NFT-startup accelerator Launchpad Luna earlier this year.

 

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