- Hex Trust intends to expand into Europe and the Middle East
- It will also invest in its proprietary crypto platform Hex SafeTM
Asia-based institutional crypto custodian Hex Trust has completed an $88 million Series B funding round led by Animoca Brands and Liberty City Ventures at a $300 million valuation. Of the raised capital, $61 million constituted primary capital, while $27 million was from secondary investors.
Several other investments firms, including Sino Global Capital, Terra, CoinList, Protocol Labs, Morgan Creek, Primavera Venture Partners, Ripple, BlockFi, LeadBlock Partners, and Eterna Capital also participated in this round.
According to CEO and co-founder of Hex Trust, Alessio Quaglini, investors' interest in this raise surpassed the initially anticipated numbers. The CEO told The Block that the crypto custodian had to create more room at the table to accommodate even more entities.
Evidently, the Trust ended up collecting much more than the $30 million initially targeted. Notwithstanding, Hex has plans for another raise, at least twice the size of the just-concluded round.
Investment towards achieving strategic growth
With the fresh investor backing, Hex Trust wants to expand the reach of its services into newer regions around the world. Specifically, Hex intends to grow into the Middle East and Europe. In Europe, stretching into UK and Switzerland are viable options, and for the Middle East, there are plans to set up shop in Dubai.
"From a licensing perspective, we are getting a license in Dubai and we're studying Europe on this and where to go. Operationally, we are looking at opening offices in the Middle East and Europe," said Quaglini.
The firm plans to invest in the development of Hex SafeTM – its native crypto platform. It will also fund initiatives to seek extra licensing and enhance new service offerings.
Quaglini said Hex aims to remain at the forefront of digital asset custodial services even as institutional investor interest in the assets remains high. The firm is dedicated to providing clients with solutions to monetise virtual assets while helping them attain compliance with regulatory standards.
"Our mission at Hex Trust remains the same: to stay ahead of the curve in terms of licensing and compliance, integrating the latest developments such as new protocols, decentralised finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), gaming and decentralised finance (GameFi), and the metaverse, and providing innovative services and financing solutions to enable our clients to monetise digital assets held in custody with us," he said.
Notably, over the last year, Hex has been working with notable entities within the crypto sector. The crypto custodian has launched projects with several blockchain-related firms, including the Celo Foundation, Terraform Labs, Flare Networks, Ripple Labs and Huobi Asset Management.