Los Angeles-based cryptocurrency investment firm SFOX has raked in roughly $22.7 million in its Series A funding. The round was headed by venture platforms Social Capital and Tribe Capital and earned the participation of other firms like DCG, SV Angel, Blockchain Capital and Y Combinator.
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SFOX caters specifically to professional traders, high net-worth individuals and institutions. As a prime dealer for cryptocurrency markets, the company provides access to global sources of trading and liquidity, real-time trading APIs, OTC desks and U2F hardware for private key management. The company’s transaction volume exceeds $9 billion, and its client base has grown 12-fold since January.
In an interview with Bitcoin Magazine, CEO and co-founder Akbar Thobhani said that the addition of institutional investors to the crypto space could bring legitimacy and boost mass adoption. He also suggested that more institutional investors wish to get involved in the cryptocurrency space but are reluctant to do so because of regulatory uncertainty and volatility in the market.
“Traditional institutions, including funds, banks, pensions and endowments require an infrastructure they’re accustomed to for properly managing operational and monetary risk,” he said.
“As infrastructure is built, institutions require trading products to properly hedge themselves during volatile markets. In the financial markets, there is a suite of products that help participants navigate: options, futures, repos, etc. We’re still in the early stages, but the progress in trading products is a positive sign. Options and futures have been available since 2017, and there’s a strong push for bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.”
Thobhani says the company plans to use its newly acquired funds to expand its services. The company is building a full crypto asset-management platform, and it plans to hire more engineers and operations managers, expand to new geographical markets and
