Bank of New York Mellon has invested in Fireblocks, a platform that allows banks and other financial institutes to store, move and issue cryptocurrencies, as the world’s largest custodian bank strengthens its focus on digital assets.
BNY Mellon’s investment was part of a $133 million funding round that saw participation from hedge fund Coatue Management, investment firm Ribbit Capital, growth equity firm Stripes and SVB Capital.
The latest round values Fireblocks at close to $1 billion. Existing investors including Paradigm, Galaxy Digital and Swisscom Ventures also participated in the round.
Fireblocks has a presence in Europe, Asia and North America, with customers including banks, neobanks, exchanges, hedge funds and market makers.
The company has raised $179 million in funds to date.
The cash injection by BNY Mellon comes after the bank last month joined the rush by top-tier financial services firms to bet on digital currencies such as bitcoin, saying it had formed a new unit to help clients hold, transfer and issue digital assets.
Financial services firms, including BlackRock and Mastercard, have also backed certain digital currencies. Morgan Stanley became the first big U.S. bank to offer its wealth management clients access to bitcoin funds.
