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Saxo Bank’s Co-Founder Invests in Crypto Trading Algo Firm

source-logo  financemagnates.com 23 April 2024 09:51, UTC

Lars Seier Christensen, the co-founder of Saxo Bank, has invested an undisclosed sum of money into Skynet Trading, a digital assets trading and algorithmic software development firm, through his investment arm Seier Capital. Announced yesterday (Monday), the company also received an investment from Edessa Capital.

First Outside Investors

The two investors are the first outside private shareholders of Skynet, as until now, the company was bootstrapped by its co-founders. The investment also came when the dollar value of Bitcoin and several other cryptocurrencies were hovering around their peak.

“The addition of Seier Capital and Edessa Capital as private shareholders marks a significant milestone for the company, providing strategic input crucial for our next stage of growth,” one of the co-founders of Skynet stated in a statement.

An FX Pioneer Bets on Crypto

Christensen, who is among the industry experts who see a parallel between the FX and today’s digital asset markets, is known for co-founding Denmark-headquartered Saxo Bank, which now manages EUR 95 billion in client assets, and also served as the co-CEO for about two decades. He divested his stakes in the brokerage in 2017, only to establish his investment arm Seier Capital.

One of Christensen’s notable investments is the co-ownership of the Danish football team FC Copenhagen.

On the other hand, Edessa Capital was founded by partners who previously co-managed Arrington Capital. The venture fund focuses its investments on companies in the digital asset space.

“We are excited to back Skynet Trading, a business that has successfully navigated numerous market cycles. We are excited to support their talented team,” a spokesperson from Edessa said.

Meanwhile, Saxo Bank is reportedly contemplating selling its minority or majority stake at a valuation between EUR 1.5 billion and EUR 2 billion. Earlier, the Danish broker failed to close an SPAC-deal that would have taken it public.

financemagnates.com