PolySign, Inc., a financial tech company providing blockchain-enabled digital asset infrastructure for institutional investors, recently announced the close of its $53 million Series C round with participation by Cowen Digital, Brevan Howard, GSR and others.
Beyond the funding, PolySign also “secured a $25 million credit facility with Boathouse Capital.”
Over the past year since PolySign’s Series B raise in May 2021, it has “become clear that an institutional-level custody solution is necessary from both a security and regulatory perspective.”
CEO Jack McDonald and the team have actively “worked to attain forerunner status in the space and provide clients with the next-generation services needed.”
The recent acquisition of MG Stover “accelerates the company’s product development plan and paves the way for future service enhancements focused on institutional investors and asset managers.”
Standard Custody & Trust Company, a next-generation NYDFS regulated custodian and subsidiary of PolySign, “offers a security program that combines proprietary blockchain technology, end-to-end encryption, and distributed trust protocols to protect private keys.”
The platform’s integrated escrow solution “enables investors to buy and sell digital assets directly from custody, reducing the risk of external transfers and inefficient transactions between multiple accounts and different providers.”
Standard Custody “facilitates 24/7 investor market access with improved security and capital efficiency.”
Jack McDonald, CEO of PolySign, said:
“While crypto has captured immense interest from retail investors, the role that institutional investors carry in shaping the future of the digital asset space cannot be understated. A better platform for custody and fund administration is necessary to serve their unique needs and help expand the market.”
McDonald added:
“Market volatility has often obscured the biggest hurdle to institutional involvement – security. With this latest funding round and support from major institutions, as well as our recent acquisition of MG Stover, PolySign’s solutions are making the world of digital assets more attractive to institutional investors and accelerating the transition from traditional finance to decentralized finance.”
Drew Forman, Head of Cowen Digital, commented:
“Cowen Digital is proud to be part of PolySign’s latest investment round. As a trusted partner, PolySign already forms a key component of Cowen Digital’s trade execution and custody ecosystem. This investment continues to put both firms at the forefront in serving the growing demand from institutional investors for safe, secure and seamless access to digital assets.”
Colleen Sullivan, Co-Head of Private Investments at Brevan Howard Digital, remarked:
“We are incredibly excited to support PolySign and absolutely thrilled with the company’s recent acquisition of MG Stover. PolySign, founded four years ago, is providing foundational and battle tested infrastructure across custody and administration services and is run by a best-in-class team.”
Sullivan further noted:
“In a time where trust in counterparties, embracing regulation, and understanding crypto and market risk are rightfully heightened, we are proud to support outstanding operators like Jack McDonald and Matt Stover, who are building products and services that are necessary to take our industry to the next level.”
As noted in the update, PolySign is “a transformative financial technology company providing institutional investors with cutting-edge blockchain-enabled infrastructure in support of digital assets across the capital markets and payments sectors.”
The PolySign family of products “includes MGStover and Standard Custody and Trust Co. MG Stover is a full-service fund administration firm built by former auditors and fund operators to deliver world class solutions to the alternative investment industry.”
PolySign’s New York-regulated custodian, Standard Custody & Trust Company, claims to be “a next-generation Qualified Custodian offering novel, patented technology for securing secret keys.”
