U.K. bank Barclays is one of the investors, according to a Sky News report in the $2 billion funding round for cryptocurrency custody firm Copper.
The largest international bank in the UK, Barclays, has closed a long-running negotiation with investors in the round that had been postponed since November by investing in cryptocurrency custody startup Copper’s most recent round.
According to Sky News on Sunday, Barclays made an undisclosed investment worth “millions of dollars” as part of the round. The investment round, which values Copper at $2 billion, is anticipated to be completed in the next few days.
The $500 million Series C capital round for Copper, which it had sought a $3 billion valuation for after months of discussions with the UK’s financial regulator, the FCA, was delayed by nine months. The most recent rise falls far short of what was intended.
Copper has decided to become regulated in Switzerland since it was unable to register with the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom. Philip Hammond, a former English Chancellor of the Exchequer, is Copper’s advisor.
Barclays had total assets of about $1.4 trillion as of 2021. The bank became the first in the UK to embrace cryptocurrency, specifically bitcoin, back in 2015 by persuading charities to accept the emerging asset class as a form of gifts.
However, its decision in July of last year to restrict its customers from using their cards to make payments to prominent exchanges Binance and Coinbase marks its most recent involvement in the cryptocurrency industry.
Dmitry Tokarev founded Copper in 2018, which offers institutional investors custody, prime broking, and settlement services. In June of last year, the company completed a $50 million Series B investment round with an undisclosed valuation.