Abrdn leads digital assets exchange Archax's $28.5 million raise

Quick Take

  • Digital assets exchange Archax has raised $28.5 million in a Series A round.
  • Investment firm Abrdn is the lead strategic investor in the round. Backers also include Bitrock Capital, Blockchain Coinvestors and the Tezos Foundation.

Archax, the UK's only digital asset exchange to be licensed by the Financial Conduct Authority, has raised $28.5 million in a Series A fundraising round.

Investment firm Abrdn is the lead strategic investor in the round, according to a statement from the company. Other backers include Bitrock Capital, Blockchain Coinvestors and the Tezos Foundation.

Archax allows institutional investors to custody and trade a variety of digital assets as well as traditional securities. 

"We are extremely pleased to have been able to complete a round of this size during the turbulent crypto and traditional financial market conditions of the last few months," Graham Rodford, CEO and co-founder of Archax, said in the release. "It is also fantastic to have such credible and strategic partner investors involved in the raise too – led by Abrdn."

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Abrdn, which oversees more than $619 billion in assets under management, become the biggest external shareholder in Archax earlier this year.

The startup previously closed an $8 million oversubscribed seed round in October 2020. It is currently working on rolling out a range of regulated exchange-traded products, the company said in the release.

“Closing this round and beating our soft-close target in the prevailing market conditions with such a stellar list of investors not only shows their faith in Archax and our strategy for the digital space, but also for the UK as a global centre for innovation, blockchain and digital financial markets too,” Rodford said in the release.


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About Author

Kari McMahon is a deals reporter at The Block covering startup fundraises, M&A, FinTech and the VC industry. Prior to joining The Block, Kari covered investing and crypto at Insider and worked as a python software developer for several years. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected]

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