Cowen to Offer Crypto Custody Services Through $25M Stake in PolySign
Investment bank Cowen Inc. said it will offer crypto custody services to hedge funds and asset managers.
The New York-based firm will provide custody services for cryptocurrencies and other digital assets in partnership with Standard Custody & Trust, a unit of digital asset infrastructure firm PolySign, according to an announcement Thursday.
As part of the agreement, Cowen took a $25 million stake in PolySign as part of the PolySign’s $53 million Series B funding round that Cowen led.
Cowen was joined in the funding round by London-based crypto wallet provider and exchange Blockchain.com and others.
As part of Cowen’s investment, Dan Charney, a Cowen co-president, and John Holmes, Cowen’s chief operating officer, will join PolySign’s board
Standard Custody & Trust provides PolySign’s custody services by virtue of the trust charter granted by the New York Department of Financial Services earlier this month.
PolySign’s leadership team includes CEO Jack McDonald and President and founder Arthur Britto, who previously co-founded Ripple Labs, the company behind the cryptocurrency, XRP.
Cowen, which was founded in 1918, holds almost $12 billion in assets under management.
See also: UK Asset Manager Baillie Gifford Invests $100M in Blockchain.com