Elwood Technologies bags $70M in investment from Goldman Sachs and Barclays

• Elwood Technologies aims to invest in infrastructure rather as opposed to injecting funds into short-term initiatives
• The company’s latest funding pushed its valuation to $500 million

Crypto trading software provider Elwood Technologies has secured a $70 million investment that pushed the company’s valuation to half a billion.

According to a report published by Financial Times on May 15, Goldman Sachs and Barclays have teamed up to finance the crypto trading platform founded by British billionaire Alan Howard. The report detailed that venture capital firm Dawn Capital as well as the venture divisions of Germany’s Commerzbank and Galaxy Digital, also took part.

The move comes as the crypto scene contends with the top 500 of leading digital assets losing over 50% in value as the crypto markets continue struggling due to their correlation with tech stocks. The recent downside saw Terra’s UST and LUNA collapse, while Bitcoin traded at below $30,000 for the first time in almost a year. 

Long-term ambition

With that in mind, Elwood is focusing its funding on infrastructure (long-term) rather than investing in short-term returns.

The firm has a conviction that institutional investors will continue delving into crypto. Notably, a deal for the funding was agreed in principle before the recent market crash, but Elwood Technologies CEO James Stickland insists that’s no concern.

 “We’re getting investment from financial institutions that aren’t expecting to get massive returns in 15 minutes. They’re investing in the infrastructure; I think it’s a reassurance message.”

The firm provides financial institutions with a crypto portfolio management system. It frequently works with FinTechs, banks, hedge funds, and crypto exchanges by providing its proprietary software that enables an interface to link crypto exchanges, liquidity providers, and custodians.

Global head of digital assets at Goldman Sachs, Matthew McDermott, observed that Elwood Technologies has continued focusing on crypto, aiming to satisfy ballooning user demand.

“As institutional demand for cryptocurrency rises, we have been actively broadening our market presence and capabilities to cater for client demand,” he added.

Traditional finance sector is gravitating toward crypto

Goldman Sachs’ participation in the Elwood funding indicates the bank’s keen and strategic foray into the crypto-assets space. The bank recently issued its first Bitcoin-backed cash loan. The decision by the bank is part of a larger move by financial institutions to satisfy their client’s needs for crypto trading and investment.

Besides financial institutions, there is an increase in private funding for crypto. In January, Elwood’s Alan Howard co-founded BH Digital, a crypto hedge fund under the Brevan Howard umbrella which aims to capitalise on arbitrage in crypto prices.