Collaborative Crypto Custody Firm Unchained Raises $60 Million

Summary:
• Unchained uses a collaborative custody model, which is safer because it ensures that asset owners have some control over their assets.

Unchained, the Bitcoin-centric financial services provider, has announced that it recently raised $60 million in a Series B funding round. Existing investors NYDIG, Trammell Venture Partners, Ecliptic Capital, and Highland Capital Partners all contributed to the round, which concluded on April 11th, and which was led by Valour Equity Partners. Furthermore, Valor will have a representative on Unchained’s Board of Directors.

With the fresh capital in hand, Unchained says it will better serve its existing clientele, develop new ones, and enhance the quality of its financial services offered via collaborative custody. The goal of the company’s collaborative custody strategy is to allow Bitcoin newbies to bypass established centralised custodians. After a $15 million investment led by Ten31 was completed last fall, Series B provides more momentum.

Multi-sig collaborative custody provides higher asset security

By leveraging Bitcoin’s built-in multisignature features, the company’s collaborative custody model offers the advantages of self-custody without the associated risks. Both the client and Unchained or another financial services provider retain private keys to the client’s Bitcoin wallet. This not only reduces counterparty risk by spreading it across several entities, but it also removes single points of failure caused by the loss or theft of keys.

Also, the Unchained trading desk is the first in the market to enable direct Bitcoin purchases to cold storage, and its IRA product is the first to allow customers to keep their Bitcoin keys in a tax-sheltered retirement account.

More than $2 billion in bitcoin are protected by thousands of keys in Unchained’s decentralised platform for collaborative custody. Clients can check for themselves at any moment that the company does not have the ability to relocate unilaterally or rehypothecate client funds, as was the case with FTX investors. Furthermore, the company stands out in the loans segment because it reduces the risk for the lender and the borrower, providing for greater stability and an exceptional chance to expand market share.