Major Crypto Asset Management Firm Cobo Raises $40 Million in Series B Funding

Crypto asset manager Cobo, raised $40 million in a Series B funding round led by DST Global, A&T Capital, and IMO Ventures. The leading Asia-headquartered firm said it intends to use the funds to achieve a number of key objectives. Paramount among them is the facilitation of institutional integration with DeFi products.

Cobo announced on Wednesday that it is looking to develop the first DeFi-as-a-service (DaaS) infrastructure. DaaS aids institutions and their clients in accessing decentralized finance products in a compliant manner. Cobo further elaborated that DaaS offers more secure exposure to DeFi smart contracts – minus the need to understand market complexities. In addition, Cobo also plans to use part of the funds to apply for regulatory licenses in Singapore, its new base. Lastly, the company says it will follow compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism guidelines for all products.

Founded in 2017, Cobo is the largest digital crypto custodian and asset management firm in the Asia-Pacific region. To date, the company has served more than 300 institutions cumulatively through its one-stop custody services. These services cover over 85% of APAC’s second-tier crypto exchanges. Cobo has a cumulative transaction volume of $20 billion.

Furthermore, some of its institutional clients are Deribit, F2Pool, BitMart, and Pionex. Cobo’s latest investment round comes nearly three years after a DHVC-backed $13 million Series A round in October 2018. The latest Series B round supports the fact that Asia-Pacific investors are seeking secure access to the DeFi market. It further shows that despite the recent regulatory crackdowns in the region, Asia still remains an attractive prospect for crypto investments.

Cobo Co-founder Commends Funding Round, Says Company Is On to Big Things

Mao Shixing AKA Discus Fish, Cobo’s co-founder, and CEO, said the development of the new DaaS infrastructure comes at an appropriate time. He said this in reference to the growing demand for crypto assets across Asia, specifically China, Japan, Korea, and recently Vietnam. In Discus Fish’s own words:

“With interest in the crypto revolution soaring across Asia, it’s high time to expand blockchain infrastructures to meet the rising demand, especially as we’re seeing growing enthusiasm among institutions.”

Discus Fish further touched on the crypto-application evolution from Bitcoin, to DeFi and now NFTs – over a relatively short period. He even predicted the future development of ‘metaverses’ on the blockchain. Discus Fish suggested the latest funding round brings the company closer to its core vision – empowering 1 billion users to access crypto. The Cobo co-founder said his company already has the foundational infrastructure to serve 1,000 institutional investors. Currently, Cobo supports over 50 public chains, more than 1,000 tokens, and serves about 75,000 high-net-worth individuals.

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