Citi Ventures Makes First Crypto Seed Investment in Startup Xalts

Thursday, October 06, 2022

(Bloomberg's Crypto by Muyao Shen) – Citigroup Inc.’s venture capital investing group made its first digital asset seed investment in a Hong Kong-based digital-asset management firm. 

Citi Ventures co-led a $6 million initial capital financing round for xalts, which was co-founded by a former trader at HSBC Holdings and a former executive at Meta Platforms Inc. Accel, the Palo Alto, California-based venture-capital firm that has funded technology companies that include Facebook and Spotify, was the other firm that co-led the funding round. Citi Ventures didn’t disclose the amount it invested. Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal and other hedge fund managers were also investors.

Xalts is seeking to take advantage of what it said is increased institutional participation in the digital asset ecosystem even after this year’s plunge in the prices of cryptocurrencies. The firm aims to launch multiple fund products linked to digital assets, including mutual funds and ETFs listed on global exchanges.