Citi Dips Toe into Crypto Waters, Leading $6 Million Round in xalts

• Hong Kong-based digital asset investment startup xalts received $6 million in funding.
• The round was co-led by Citi Ventures and Accel.
• The investment marks a first for Citi; it is the first digital asset manager in which the bank-owned venture firm has invested.

Digital asset investing company xalts landed $6 million in funding in a Seed round co-led by Citi Ventures and Accel.

The investment, which is xalts’ first round of capital, also marks a first for Citi Ventures. xalts is the first digital asset manager in which the bank-owned venture firm has invested. “xalts is our first investment in a digital asset manager, and we support its vision of creating innovative products to meet the growing appetite of institutional investors for more efficient and robust crypto-access investments,” said Citi Ventures Managing Director Luis Valdich.

While the investment is a first for Citi, however, the move into crypto is not uncommon for traditional financial firms. In fact, just a few weeks ago, Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, and Fidelity Investments announced the launch of a new cryptocurrency exchange, EDX markets, to serve both individual and institutional investors.

Headquartered in Hong Kong, xalts is a global digital investment firm that helps financial institutions across the globe access digital assets while remaining compliant. The company was founded earlier this year by Goel Ashutosh and Supreet Kaur.

“With xalts, we are building innovative, institutional-grade investment products and solutions which focus on high compliance and control standards – things institutional investors care about,” said Goel, xalts’ Chief Investment Officer. “The next leg of growth in digital assets will be driven by institutional participation in the asset class. We are starting to see the early signs of that with a lot of new initiatives coming from banks and asset managers.”

Photo by Tom Fisk

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