Elliptic, the digital asset services company, has completed a USD2m funding round led by venture capital firm Octopus Investments.
This funding comes just six months after the launch of Elliptic Vault, the world’s first insured Bitcoin storage service.
The seed-funding round, which sees Octopus invest alongside a number of experienced angel investors, is the first major venture capital investment in a Bitcoin company in the UK.
Launched in January 2014, Elliptic will offer a suite of enterprise services that bridge the gap between traditional finance and digital assets. Their first such product, Elliptic Vault, was the world’s first insured Bitcoin storage service. Targeted at businesses and financial institutions, physical and cryptographic security are combined to provide the highest level of protection for clients’ digital assets.
This funding will be used to support further product development and to build on the current momentum around customer acquisition, which has seen a range of businesses, including hedge funds and law firms, adopt Elliptic Vault for their Bitcoin storage needs. One such customer is the recently announced Jersey-based Global Advisors Bitcoin Investment Fund, the first regulator-approved fund of its kind.
Dr James Smith, chief executive of Elliptic, says: “Since launching Elliptic Vault in January of this year, we have been delighted with the response that we have received. We at Elliptic believe that the future of finance lies in digital assets, and as such it is essential that we work to both legitimise and protect the likes of Bitcoin. But digital currencies are just the start – the block chain technology behind Bitcoin has the potential to revolutionise a wide range of industries.
“This funding allows us to continue the work we have been doing on product development, and also to consolidate our position as the trusted provider of enterprise digital asset services. We welcome Octopus on board and look forward to working with them.”
Rebecca Marshall, a member of the ventures team at Octopus, says: “There has been much discussion of late around Bitcoin and the need to establish and encourage industry best-practices around digital assets. At Octopus we are always searching for the best teams with industry-defining ideas, and we are delighted to be investing in the team at Elliptic. Since launching Elliptic Vault six months ago the business has shown great growth, as well as foresight, with regard to lobbying. Financial service regulation will play an important role in the development of digital currencies – just last week the European Banking Authority released a report, advising that banks should not themselves hold digital currencies directly – and we were impressed with the team’s active role in the Bitcoin community.”
