Funding led by Valor Equity Partners and other existing investors will go towards the firm’s expansion and improvement.
Unchained, a financial services provider for bitcoin holders, has announced that it has raised $60 million in its Series B funding round. The funding was led by Valor Equity Partners and included participation from existing investors such as NYDIG, Trammell Venture Partners, Ecliptic Capital and Highland Capital Partners. According to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine, funding will be used to expand Unchained’s client base and improve its suite of financial services.
Unchained’s collaborative custody model aims to use Bitcoin’s native multisignature capabilities to provide the benefits of self-custody while mitigating risks associated with self-custody. The model allows clients to share control of their bitcoin between private keys they hold themselves and private keys held by Unchained and other financial services companies. The platform currently secures over $2 billion in bitcoin across thousands of keys worldwide, according to the press release.
Vivek Pattipati, a Partner at Valor who will be joining Unchained’s Board of Directors, described Unchained’s current position, saying that “in the midst of market chaos, Unchained has emerged as a highly trusted provider of Bitcoin custody and financial services through superior technology, risk management, regulatory compliance, and client service.”
The company has originated over $500 million in bitcoin-collateralized loans since 2017, the press release states, while experiencing zero loan losses. The Unchained trading desk allows clients to buy bitcoin directly to cold storage, and its IRA offering allows clients to hold keys to their bitcoin within tax-advantaged retirement accounts, which the release notes is an industry-first.
Unchained feels that as bitcoin continues to grow in adoption, there is a tremendous opportunity for products that bridge into the traditional dollar ecosystem around credit, trading, investment and other financial services. “Using this fresh capital investment to expand our reach and suite of services, we hope to enable new entrants to Bitcoin to leapfrog centralized custodians into our safer collaborative custody model,” said Unchained CEO Joe Kelly.
