Talos Reaches Unicorn Status with $1.25B Valuation, Backing includes Citigroup, Wells Fargo, BNY Mellon

A $105 million Series B funding round led by some of the world’s leading banks puts crypto trading tech developer Talos’ valuation at $1.25 billion.

Led by global growth equity firm General Atlantic, this funding round also included participation from the likes of Citigroup, BNY Mellon, and Wells Fargo, as well as previous investors, Fidelity Investments and investors Andreessen Horowitz and PayPal Ventures. 

Crypto infrastructure

The inclusion of the financial giants underscores the growing confidence of Wall Street in the prospective adoption of digital assets. Although prices are currently falling, financial institutions expect forthcoming regulation to bring greater clarity to dealing with cryptocurrencies. In order to prepare for this scenario, they are currently seeking out safer ways for their clients to trade and hold crypto.

Consequently, contributors see Talos as well-positioned, as it provides infrastructure for its clients to see prices at leading exchanges and market makers in one place. This will enable institutional investors to demonstrate they are making trades on the best terms for their customers.

“We are moving away from an earlier era in which trades were executed by calling your buddy and telling your clients I trade with her because I know she has the best prices,” said Aaron Goldman, managing director and co-head of financial services at General Atlantic. “You have to show people you were able to go to the market, see different prices, and execute in the most efficient and thoughtful way, and later you can go back, audit, and demonstrate you received the best execution.”

Financial tokenization

Meanwhile, Talos chief executive Anton Katz believes that as traditional finance finds more uses for trading methods developed in the crypto business, his company will handle a greater variety of digital assets. 

“The experimentation that is happening in crypto is driving other asset classes to see what can be done more optimally, what can be done differently,” he said. “The vast majority of our conversations with large institutions right now are literally about that, what is going to be the impact of this technology on the existing ecosystem.”

Indeed, these leading financial institutions are preparing for the prospect that traditional assets will take a digital form, becoming tokenized on blockchains. “We see crypto as the tip of the spear,” said Mike Demissie, head of digital assets and advanced solutions for BNY Mellon. “Other types of assets are going to be tokenized and be made available on this type of infrastructure.”

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