BridgePort Nails $3.2M Seed Round to Revolutionize Crypto OTC Trading

Further Ventures Leads the Charge, Backed by Crypto Heavyweights

Hang on to your hats, crypto fans! BridgePort, the buzzing OTC crypto platform, just locked down a sizzling $3.2 million in seed round financing. Leading the charge was Abu Dhabi's own Further Ventures, with a posse of top-tier venture capital firms riding shotgun.

So, what's the plan with all this fresh cash? BridgePort's ready to level up its game, beefing up the team to tackle the skyrocketing demand from institutions looking for slick infrastructure that keeps them off those risky exchanges.

BridgePort's not just another platform; it's the bridge that's flipping the script on how investors dive into crypto. Say goodbye to parking your funds on exchanges just to get in on the action. Plus, they've got your back with real-time messaging and tight collateral management to keep credit and settlement risks at bay.

The seed round? Yeah, Further Ventures kicked it off, but they weren't alone. Big names like Virtu, XBTO, Blockchain Founders Fund, Fun Fair Ventures, and Humla Ventures jumped in to back the play.

Nirup Ramalingam, the mastermind behind BridgePort, is stoked. He says this $3.2 million haul is a game-changer, pushing them closer to solving the headaches and risks tied to prefunding in the wild world of crypto.

"We're pumped that our investors are all in on our vision to build the ultimate institutional coordination layer for off-exchange crypto settlements. It's all about knitting the ecosystem together," Ramalingam declared.

Mohamed Hamdy, the big boss at Further Ventures, spilled the beans on why they're betting big on BridgePort. He's convinced that their mission to bust through prefunding and credit fragmentation is the key to unlocking the next big wave of institutional interest in crypto.

"We're betting on BridgePort's infrastructure to be the bedrock of the next evolution in crypto market structures," Hamdy proclaimed.

Once seen as the sketchy back-alley way to settle off-chain, OTC platforms like BridgePort are now the go-to for traditional finance giants like banks and corporations itching to dip their toes into crypto without going all in on those centralized exchange hotspots.

Why the shift? Simple. Institutional investors are playing it cool, knowing that keeping their cash on exchanges is a high-stakes gamble. Just look at the Bybit hack, DMM Bitcoin, and WazirX debacles – those were wake-up calls showing how real the risks are for anyone stashing big bucks on exchanges.

After the Bybit hack, security gurus even warned that OTC services might have to hit the brakes hard to stop stolen funds from making a run for it off-chain.