Goldman Sachs doubles down on its crypto bet. In April, the banking institution allowed its wealthiest clients to invest in Bitcoin-based investment products, relaunch its crypto trading desk, and has been opening to this asset class.
Now, Goldman Sachs participated in blockchain infrastructure provider Blockdaemon’s $28 million Series A investment round. Led by Greenspring Associate, BlockFi, Uphold, Voyager Digital, Illuminate Financial, Goldman Sachs, and others, according to a press release.
Blockdaemon has seen important growth over the past year with $5 billion in staked assets. By the end of 2021, the company projects $50 billion in staked assets. Their products are leverage for over 25 million registered users.
In the same period, Blockdaemon has deployed over 10,000 nodes across 40 blockchain-based networks. These nodes are in over 20 regions around the world. In addition, the company has expanded its staff on an executive level to improve its operations.
The success of this series A round, according to the press release, demonstrates the institutional demand for access to “secure blockchain infrastructure. The company has the objective of “revitalizing” the legacy financial system and its services. Konstantin Richter, CEO, and Founder of Blockdaemon said the following:
This funding represents a significant milestone for Blockdaemon. With investment from industry leading financial technology providers and VC firms, this round will enable us to further expand our node infrastructure services, add to our growing team, and strengthen our presence in emerging markets across the globe while deepening our existing strategic relationships with global financial institutions.
Richter added that Blockdaemon offers its client a “simplified” gateway into the blockchain industry with the tools to “scale up operations”. Goldman Sachs could be especially interested in the latter.
Goldman Sachs Bets On Crypto Goin Mainstream?
Blockdaemon allows its institutional customers, such as Goldman Sachs, to stake and deploy nodes. The company offers secure, scalable, and “reliable” services.
By acquiring them, a corporation has access to Ethereum’s Beacon Chain (Eth 2.0), Bitcoin and its Lightning Network, Cardano, Polkadot, Cosmos, and many others. The services are provided via cloud and “on-premises” with the Blockdaemon Marketplace. Oli Harris, North America head of digital assets at Goldman Sachs, added the following:
Blockchain is a key driver of innovation in the financial services industry and Blockdaemon is powering its infrastructure. We are excited to join them as they continue to provide institutional-grade blockchain technology to all that want to leverage it.
The banking institutions have also invested in crypto research firm Coin Metrics. Goldman Sachs led a $15 million Series B back in May. At the time, Mathew McDermott, Global Head of Digital Assets at the bank, said that data is critical for crypto mainstream adoption.
Bitcoin trades at $33,500. The first cryptocurrency by market cap has experienced a lot of volatility in the past day after losing critical support at $35,000. This level has now been flipped into resistance and will need to be reclaimed before BTC’s price can resume bullish momentum.
