Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin, Ethereum, DogeCoin, Ripple, Litecoin are placed on PC motherboard in this illustration taken (fixed).
LONDON - RIT Capital Partners, the investment trust established by Jacob Rothschild, is co-leading a new funding round for crypto investment platform Aspen Digital intended to finance the creation of an online platform that would give wealthy investors a single portal to manage crypto investments.
RIT will lead the $8.8 million fundraising round for Hong Kong-based Aspen Digital, along with Liberty City Ventures, an early venture investor in the blockchain industry, said Aspen in a statement on Wednesday.
This investment will fund the launch of the platform and its expansion to London, Yang He told Reuters.
Other investors include Chatchaval Jiaravanon and Chaval Jiaravanon - members of Thailand's richest family and owners of Fortune Magazine.
Aspen aims at family offices and asset managers in Europe, Asia and the Middle East who want to have a single portal from which they can build a diversified crypto portfolio. It expects to go live later this year.
To have the new wealth management family in the world trusting our platform solution for the oldest world of crypto investment is a great validation, said Yang.
Investor enthusiasm for crypto has increased over the past year, with one study showing that seven out of 10 institutional investors expect to invest or buy digital assets in future.
The London-listed RIT has invested in other tech companies recently, like U.S. crypto exchange Kraken. Jacob Rothschild remains the largest RIT shareholder with a 12.39% stake.
Aspen Digital aims to provide family offices with a crypto investment portal which will take care of compliance procedures and the counterparty risk.
Aspen will focus on three fields: it will allow investors to buy and hold crypto, will invest in yield-generating products such as stablecoin backed savings accounts, and will offer automated strategies comparable to quant strategies employed by many hedge funds.
It would also have a research arm aggregating news in the sector and market insights, and would present this to clients so that they can see what it could mean for their portfolios.
Emil Woods, founder of Liberty City Ventures, said: "We are thrilled to partner with one of the finest team in blockchain and crypto technology.