Crypto Hedge Fund Elwood Closes $70M Funding Led by Goldman Sachs and Dawn Capital

Elwood Technologies, the cryptocurrency company backed by billionaire fund manager Alan Howard, raised $70 million in a funding round co-led by Goldman Sachs (GS) and Dawn Capital.

The Series A round also included U.K. bank Barclays (BCS) and Commerzbank’s CommerzVentures, as well as Galaxy Digital Ventures, BlockFi Ventures, Flow Traders, Chimera Ventures and Digital Currency Group (CoinDesk’s parent company).

London-based Elwood launched its first blockchain and crypto-related products in early 2019. Of the large Wall Street banks, Goldman is probably leading the way in crypto; Barclays, which became a thought leader in early permissioned blockchain experimentation, is an interesting addition to Elwood’s public crypto trading stable of backers.

“The rich mix of investors participating in this raise reaffirms the movement of financial institutions working closely with their native digital asset technology providers,” said Elwood CEO James Stickland in a statement.

Mathew McDermott, global head of digital assets at Goldman Sachs, added in a statement: “As institutional demand for cryptocurrency rises, we have been actively broadening our market presence and capabilities to cater for client demand. Our investment in Elwood demonstrates our continued commitment to digital assets and we look forward to partnering to expand our capabilities.”