Utila, to support the development of its corporate crypto platform, has raised $11.5 million in a seed funding round co-led by NFX and Wing VC. Framework Ventures and angel investors, including Balaji Srinivasan, Charlie Songhurst, and Surojit Chatterjee, also participated in this round. Utila enables institutions and developers to securely manage crypto assets through an independent custody wallet.
Utila and Its Crypto Services
The company claims that its platform has been used by dozens of institutional investors and crypto-focused firms to facilitate over $3 billion in transactions in the last six months. A Utila spokesperson stated that the fund was raised throughout 2023 and will be used to accelerate product development and expand Utila’s current team of 25.
According to the team, Utila is designed to assist companies with operational, regulatory, and security issues related to the adoption of crypto. They argue that existing corporate crypto wallets are hindered by a complex user experience. Edwin Handschuh, co-founder and CEO of the crypto asset trading platform 1konto, commented on the matter:
“Switching from traditional custodial services to Utila was a pivotal moment for 1konto, addressing fundamental challenges with an innovative and efficient solution. The user interface significantly reduces the learning curve and allows for faster agreements with clients.”
Noteworthy Details About Utila
Utila’s wallet service allows organizations to control assets on various networks including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Virtual Machine compatible chains, and Solana. The platform claims to offer recruitment in less than five minutes, powered by MPC (multi-party computation) key management, and integrates with customers’ exchange accounts, DeFi, and bank accounts.
MPC involves splitting a private key into parts distributed among multiple parties, allowing them to jointly conduct crypto transactions without any single party having access to the entire key.
The company revealed that Utila’s clients include institutions such as hedge funds, OTC desks, market makers, and prime brokers, as well as crypto-specific organizations like custody providers, exchanges, and token issuers who use Utila for trading operations. Bentzi Rabi, co-founder and CEO of Utila, stated:
“Utila is more than a crypto wallet; it’s a comprehensive ecosystem addressing the current challenges in crypto asset management.”
