The Monochrome private sale, which concluded last week, was primarily funded by Samson Mow, Charlie Lee, Wei Zhou, and Kain Warwick.
Monochrome, an Australian digital asset manager, has raised $1.8 million in a Series A round led by some of the cryptocurrency industry’s most powerful entrepreneurs, demonstrating the growing potential of institutional-grade crypto-asset solutions.
Monochrome said the funding will be used to develop new products focused on Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets.
Litecoin creator Charlie Lee, Blockstream Chief Strategy Officer Samson Mow, former Binance Chief Financial Officer Wei Zhou, and Kain Warwick, founder of Blueshyft and DeFi protocol Synthetix, co-led the Series A.
Monochrome’s total valuation was estimated to be around $15 million following the funding round.
Monochrome was founded earlier this year by Jeff Yew, the former CEO of Binance Australia, with the goal of providing institutional investors with access to cryptocurrency investing.
Perhaps the most well-known product of the company is the Monochrome Bitcoin Fund, a capital growth vehicle for institutional investors. The fund will invest nearly entirely in physical Bitcoin, which will be held by United States trust company BitGo Trust.
Wei Zhou described Monochrome as Australia’s “leading investment firm specialising in regulated access to digital assets,” highlighting the country’s “progressive regulatory approach” to cryptocurrency.
Australia’s cryptocurrency regulations, like those in other advanced industrialised countries, are in their infancy.
While the country does not recognise cryptocurrency as money, digital asset trading is legal and regulated by the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
As Cointelegraph previously reported, Australia’s financial regulator recently warned citizens against engaging in cryptocurrency transactions with unregistered businesses.
Monochrome, like other crypto-focused asset managers, is looking to attract institutional investors to the digital asset economy.
Demand for cryptocurrency appears to be increasing among institutional investors, as evidenced by the significant inflows into Grayscale and CoinShares products, among others.
Additionally, institutional investors’ surveys indicate that a sizable portion of wealth managers intend to purchase crypto assets or increase their exposure to the assets.
Given the longevity of Bitcoin, more investors are likely to seek exposure to digital assets in pursuit of broader macroeconomic objectives.
Financial advisers could lead the charge, particularly now that crypto investing has been significantly de-risked in terms of career reputation.
