Valkyrie Investments Raises $10M in Series A Funding

Crypto and digital asset management firm Valkyrie Investments has secured around $10 million in a Series A funding round.

Reports indicate that, while no one specific investor led the round, backers came from across a variety of industries and sectors. Some within the crypto space; others from professional sport, finance, and media.

In the former case, investors included Justin Sun, founder of Tron, and Charlie Lee, founder of Litecoin. Among the other participants were Precept Capital Management, a private equity firm based in Dallas, former Major League baseball player C.J. Wilson, UTXO Management, an investment management company based in Valkyrie’s hometown of Nashville, Consolidated Trading, and 10X Capital.

Other backers from within the crypto space included crypto finance firm XBTO, blockchain media company BTC Media, and cryptocurrency trader Scott Melker.

Valkyrie, based in Tennessee, currently offers managed products involving a number of crypto assets, including bitcoin (BTC) and Polkadot (DOT). Back in March, they filed for an exchange-traded fund, focused on corporations with Bitcoin exposure, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 

The firm was founded last year by World Bank veteran Leah Wald and Steven McClurg, formerly of Guggenheim Partners and Galaxy Digital. 

According to reports, Valkyrie will use the new financing towards further developing its presence in Nashville. This includes expanding its workforce in its research, trading, compliance, marketing, and sales departments. They will also use the investment to develop their existing product pipeline and broaden their distributions. Furthermore, once conditions allow, Valkyrie hopes to expand its presence in Asia.

Valkyrie’s CEO discusses crypto volatility

Shortly before her company secured its multimillion Series A funding, CEO and co-founder Leah Wald appeared on Bloomberg Technology to discuss the position of BTC and crypto volatility.

Presenter Emily Chang asked Wald about how she saw the effects on BTC brought on by events in China playing out in the long-term. 

“Sentiment around bitcoin is very bearish right now” she said. “Over those worries stemming from the dual threats coming out of China of the mining ban, and also crackdowns on crypto transactions”

The CEO also gave her views on crypto mining rigs relocating to the States. Many displaced miners have moved their operations to states such as Texas, while areas in Florida and Wyoming have also issued encouragement.

“The question is, how will that affect price when they get turned back online, when they’re in a new location? I think that will be a very positive decision.”