They have to keep their crypto assets somewhere in the organization. And they won’t put it in some random or customer-grade crypto operation. This requires more sophisticated technology. In addition, many US or Asia-based operations in the European Union continue to be a major barrier to entry. So it is a Berlin-based digital asset custody and financial services platform
Finoa has closed the funding round at the $22 million series to do this. The session was chaired by Balderton Capital, existing investors as well as Coparion, Venture Stars and Signature Ventures, as well as an undeclared investor. Seriously, the Berlin-based startup works with Dapper Lab’s Flu Protocol, near and Mina, which is rapidly becoming the standard for crypto resources. They are going against big players like exchanges like English, Coinbase Custody, Bitgo, Beans and Kraken and self-defense solutions like Laser.
Finoa says it now has more than 250 customers, including financial institutions such as T-Systems, DFI-descent like CoinList and Bankhaus Scheich. The company says its plan is to give institutional investors and corporations a regulated platform to manage their digital assets and that it has received an initial crypto custody license and is overseen by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BAFIN).
Christopher May and Henrik Ebbing founded the company in 2018, but the two had previously worked together at McKinsey and began working on blockchain in 2017. Comment: “We are proud to have established Finoa as Europe’s leading gateway to institutional participation and are incredibly excited to accelerate our development. I’m looking forward to it.”
Colin Hannah, chairman of Balderton Capital, a leading Crypto investor in Balderton, said: As a custodian of digital assets private keys, Finoa must have confidence both with the secure management of those keys and with their products and services that allow their clients to fully utilize the power of domestic digital assets. The team they have gathered can be uniquely located.” May added: “We have identified the lack of sophisticated safeguards and asset services solutions to secure and manage blockchain-based digital assets with the success of institutional investors. Finoa is bridging this gap by providing seamless, secure and controlled access to digital assets.”
“Staying in the European Union requires a fundamentally separate organizational setup and there is a very high level of access to new positions and other players abroad. There are some people who have been able to manage what Finoa has done in the European context and that why we now see ourselves at the top.”
