OTC platform BridgePort has completed a seed funding round, raising $3.2 million led by Further Ventures and several other venture capital firms.
Funding and Company Goals
According to the official press release, the funds raised will be used to develop and expand the BridgePort team to accommodate the growing demand from institutional clients for infrastructure that reduces reliance on exchanges.
The company acts as a bridge for investors into crypto, eliminating the need for prefunding on exchanges.
Importance for the Crypto Industry
BridgePort's CEO, Nirup Ramalingam, stated that the $3.2 million funding round marks a "significant milestone" in the company's journey towards providing solutions for capital inefficiencies and risks related to prefunding.
The Managing Partner at Further Ventures, Mohamed Hamdy, highlighted that BridgePort's mission to address challenges related to prefunding is vital for the future of the crypto industry. He believes BridgePort's infrastructure will become foundational to the next phase of crypto market structure evolution.
Risks for Institutional Investors
OTC platforms like BridgePort, once seen as backdoor options for off-chain settlement, are now becoming solutions for traditional financial institutions, like banks, which want to engage in crypto without committing funds to centralized exchanges.
Keeping money on exchanges is often viewed as a risk by institutional investors. Recent incidents, such as the Bybit hack, underscore the dangers of holding large sums of money on exchanges.
BridgePort continues to play a key role in strengthening the infrastructure for institutional investors by minimizing risks associated with keeping funds on exchanges. The success of this latest funding round could facilitate further enhancements to their services.
