Finoa Secures $22M Series A Funding

The Need for Institutional Crypto Asset Management

Financial institutions require secure locations for storing their crypto assets. Utilizing consumer-level or unverified crypto platforms is not a viable option for these entities. This necessitates the implementation of advanced and robust technological solutions.

Furthermore, operating within the European Union presents a significant hurdle for companies based in the U.S. or Asia seeking to enter the market.

Finoa Secures $22 Million in Series A Funding

Recognizing this need, Finoa, a Berlin-based platform specializing in digital asset custody and financial services, has successfully completed a $22 million Series A funding round.

Balderton Capital spearheaded the investment, with participation from existing investors including Coparion, Venture Stars, and Signature Ventures, alongside an anonymous contributor.

Key Partnerships and Competitive Landscape

Finoa distinguishes itself through its collaboration with prominent blockchain protocols such as Dapper Lab’s FLOW, NEAR, and Mina – protocols rapidly gaining recognition as industry standards.

The company operates in a competitive environment, facing established players like Anchorage, Coinbase Custody, and Bitgo, as well as exchanges including Binance and Kraken, and self-custody options like Ledger.

Growing Customer Base and Regulatory Compliance

Currently, Finoa serves a clientele exceeding 250 customers. This includes notable organizations like T-Systems, DeFi platforms such as CoinList, and traditional financial institutions like Bankhaus Scheich.

The company is actively pursuing regulatory approval, aiming to become a fully regulated platform for institutional investors and corporations. It has already received preliminary approval for a crypto custody license and is under the supervision of the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).

Founding and Early History

Established in 2018 by Christopher May and Henrik Ebbing, Finoa’s founders brought prior experience from McKinsey, having begun their exploration of blockchain technology in 2017.

Statements from Leadership

Christopher May stated: “We are proud to have established Finoa as Europe’s leading gateway for institutional participation and incredibly excited to accelerate our growth even further.”

He continued, “We look forward to supporting new exciting protocols and projects, empowering innovative corporate use cases, and adding additional (decentralized) financial products and services to our platform.”

Investor Perspective

Colin Hanna, principal at Balderton Capital, commented: “Chris, Henrik, and the entire Finoa team have built a deeply impressive business which bridges the highest levels of professionalism with radical innovation.”

Hanna added: “As custodians of digital asset private keys, Finoa needs to be trusted both with the secure management of those keys and with the products and services that allow their clients to fully leverage the power of native digital assets. The team they have assembled is uniquely positioned to do just that.”

Addressing a Market Gap and European Advantage

May explained: “We identified a lack of sophisticated custody and asset servicing solutions for safeguarding and managing blockchain-based digital assets that successfully cover the needs of institutional investors.”

“Finoa is bridging this gap by providing seamless, safe, and regulated access to the world of digital assets.”

He concluded: “Being in the European Union requires a fundamentally different organizational setup, and poses a very high entry to new incumbents and other players overseas. There are few that have managed to do what Finoa has done in a European context and hence why we now see ourselves in a leading position.”