NYDIG’s cool $1B raise indicates investors believe Bitcoin is mainstream

The news: US-based crypto technology firm NYDIG netted $1 billion in funding to drive its global mission—making Bitcoin accessible to all consumers through institutional clients and partners.

More on NYDIG: The crypto technology firm provides the infrastructure for financial institutions (FIs) to offer a variety of Bitcoin products.

• NYDIG’s platform lets FIs build Bitcoin lending, trading, and rewards programs. Banks can use NYDIG’s white-label solutions to offer Bitcoin custody, and investment managers can offer crypto funds, for example.
• NYDIG also struck several partnerships with banking vendors, including FIS and NCR, so their banking clients could offer trading products.

The bigger picture: Driven by a cross-demographic spike in consumer crypto interest, venture capital funding is flooding the space—and infrastructure providers like NYDIG stand to profit.

• Sixty percent of US adults are now aware of Bitcoin, per a 2021 survey by Curiosity at Work, and 66% are in the UK, per a Coinbase 2021 survey.
• And banks are starting to offer crypto services to keep customers on their platforms: Customers are increasingly using exchanges, and challengers like Venmo and Revolut already offer trading.
• Several large wealth managers, including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, partnered with fintechs like NYDIG to offer their clients exposure to Bitcoin.
• As a result, crypto funding is pouring in—investors Andreessen Horowitz and Hivemind Capital Partners both rolled out crypto-designated funds in excess of $1 billion in H2.
• And several crypto firms, including exchanges like FTX, have scooped up massive funding rounds to the tune of $900 million as FIs scramble to jump on the crypto train.
• We expect 2022 will be a bumper year for crypto firms in terms of funding—and crypto firms that act as a gateway for FIs to offer their own crypto products, like NYDIG and Taurus, are particularly well-positioned to scoop up investor capital.