Despite the recent decline in cryptocurrency markets, Elwood believes traditional financial institutions such as hedge funds and banks will continue to be interested in investing in cryptocurrencies.
Elwood's investment round was already set in motion before the recent decrease in pricing, which has seen the whole crypto market valuation drop by about 15% since May 9, according to CoinMarketCap. Elwood Technologies CEO James Stickland described the fundraising as "another evidence of crypto's endurance," dismissing recent price declines:
"We're getting investments from financial institutions that aren't expecting to get massive returns in 15 minutes. They're investing in the infrastructure; I think it's a reassurance message."
Elwood Technologies offers institutional investors a crypto portfolio management solution that includes crypto market data and trading infrastructure and an interface that interfaces to crypto exchanges, liquidity providers, and custodians. Goldman Sachs' investment signifies the bank's further foray into digital assets. In early May, the investment bank was the first to provide cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase a loan secured by Bitcoin (BTC). It has long been interested in the area and in March, referred to digital assets and the Metaverse as "megatrends."