European index provider specialising in crypto assets, Vinter, has announced that it has raised a further USD3.4 million as it continues to expand its range of crypto asset indexes for ETP and ETF issuers.
The round, led by Octopus Ventures, and with participation from the Ricketts family office, D4 Ventures, Pfeffer Capital and notable angels including Gokul Rajaram, Marc Powers and David Chreng, provides yet another indication of the growing institutional demand for crypto index products.
Accelerated by the SEC’s authorisation of crypto ETFs back in October, the market has experienced unprecedented growth as fully regulated providers have allowed investors and institutions to get exposure to the asset class via managed funds – avoiding the potential pitfalls of loosely regulated online trading platforms.
Jacob Lindberg, CEO of Vinter, says: “A year ago the industry was in its infancy, but with continued growth in the asset class, combined with interest from institutions, the market is maturing. We named Vinter as such because we founded the company during the crypto winter, but today experience continued and rapid development. We focused on crypto since the beginning which has meant that as one of the first regulated providers, we’re able to build indexes that no one else can. This gives our partner ETP and ETF issuers that use them a competitive advantage. This round of funding means that we can grow even faster.”
In addition to hiring senior data analysts and scientists, which will join the existing team of quants that analyse risks and industry trends at Vinter, the company will also use the cash injection to build out its team of backend developers and technical data engineers.
Zihao Xu, Head of Fintech at Octopus Ventures, adds: “We see a huge appetite within crypto for professionalisation and integration into the existing institutional ecosystem, and Vinter is creating innovative products to make it easier and safer to execute on investment strategies in crypto assets. Jacob, Marco and Håkan combine a special set of skills with incredible ambition that will put them at the forefront of institutionalising the crypto ETF sector and help onboard the next trillion dollars.”
