The cryptocurrency OTC platform BridgePort recently completed a 3.2 million seed round financing led by Further Ventures along with several other venture capital firms.
According to the official press release, the over-the-counter crypto platform plans to use the funds generated from the seed round financing to develop and expand its team to accommodate the rise in institutional demand for infrastructure that reduces exposure to exchanges.
The company prides itself in serving as a bridge that connects investors to crypto, while eliminating the need to deposit funds on exchanges for prefunding needs. Additionally, it also offers a solution to credit and settlement risk through real-time messaging and by coordinating collateral management.
The seed round was led by Abu Dhabi-based venture capital firm Further Ventures. The round was also backed by representatives from major venture capital and web3-focused firms including Virtu, XBTO, Blockchain Founders Fund, Fun Fair Ventures, and Humla Ventures.
CEO of BridgePort, Nirup Ramalingam, said the $3.2 million seed funding round marks a “major milestone” in the company’s journey towards providing a solution for capital inefficiencies and risks associated with prefunding, especially in the crypto space.
“We are grateful to our investors for believing in our vision to build the institutional coordination layer for the off-exchange settlement of crypto that will better connect the ecosystem,” said Ramalingam.
Managing Partner at Further Ventures, Mohamed Hamdy, explained why the venture capital firm decided to invest in the middleware crypto platform. He believes that BridgePort’s mission to solve the problems and risks posed by prefunding and credit fragmentation is going to be vital for the future of the crypto industry as it sees an increase in institutional interest.
“We see BridgePort’s infrastructure becoming foundational to the next phase of crypto market structure evolution,” said Hamdy in his statement.
Once regarded as a backdoor option for settling off-chain, OTC platforms like BridgePort have shifted into a solution for traditional finance institutions like banks and corporations that wish to dabble in crypto without needing to commit funds into centralized exchanges.
Keeping money on exchanges is often seen as a risk by institutional investors looking to play it safe. Crypto exchange exploits like the Bybit hack, DMM Bitcoin (BTC) and WazirX demonstrated how real the risk was for investors keeping large amounts of funds on exchanges.
In fact, after the Bybit hack, security analysts predicted that OTC services could see a large-scale freeze wave to prevent the movement of stolen funds off-chain.