Cryptocurrency infrastructure startup ZeroHash just achieved unicorn status by securing $104 million in Series D-2 financing that values the company at $1 billion.
The capital injection was led by Interactive Brokers (NASDAQ: IBKR), with heavyweight participation from Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI), and funds managed by Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO).
The round marks the first cryptocurrency infrastructure investment for many of these marquee Wall Street institutions, ZeroHash said.
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The startup is part of a broader wave of companies benefiting from a more favorable regulatory climate under President Donald Trump. After Trump took office, regulators have shifted from the skepticism seen under then-Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler to an approach that embraces cryptocurrency as an emerging technology.
ZeroHash founder and CEO Edward Woodford captured the change taking place in financial services. “We are building the [Amazon Web Services] of on-chain infrastructure,” Woodford said in the statement. “This raise, and the caliber of our investors and clients, is a testament to the trust we’ve built. It further underscores the scale and the proven track record that we have developed since founding in 2017. Cryptocurrency, stablecoins, and tokenization aren’t coming – it’s here – and ZeroHash is the engine behind the scenes.”
The raise brings ZeroHash’s total funding to $275 million since its founding. The company said this capital will accelerate product expansion, support talent growth, and further solidify its role in powering on-chain innovation for the world’s leading financial institutions.
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The scale of the investment reflects growing interest among major financial institutions in blockchain adoption. ZeroHash Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer Adam Berg revealed details about his recent meetings with industry leaders.
“I’ve recently met with multiple large bank CEOs and financial services executives, many of whom said that they are spending more than 50% of their time driving on-chain innovation at their firms,” Berg said in the company statement.
The company said it already powers cryptocurrency solutions for over 5 million users across 190 countries, supporting some of the largest and most innovative global companies, including Interactive Brokers, Stripe, Shift4 Payments (NYSE: FOUR), BlackRock’s (NYSE: BLK) BUIDL Fund, Franklin Templeton, DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG), Kalshi, Lightspark, Tastytrade, and Republic.
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SoFi CEO Anthony Noto drew attention to the transformational nature of blockchain technology. “Blockchain is a technology super cycle that will reshape financial services and make it faster, cheaper, and easier for people to interact with money,” Noto said in the ZeroHash statement. “We’re pleased to support ZeroHash’s continued growth and accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrency, stablecoins, and tokenization across mainstream finance.”
The funding round coincides with Morgan Stanley’s announcement that it was close to offering cryptocurrency trading through its E-Trade division with the help of ZeroHash, according to CNBC. The move indicates major Wall Street adoption ahead as traditional financial institutions race to offer digital asset services to their clients.
ZeroHash provides regulatory-compliant infrastructure that can be embedded into any app, platform or wallet, allowing clients to innovate quickly and thoughtfully. The company said its application programming interface and embeddable development kit enable innovators to easily launch solutions across trading, cross-border payments, commerce, remittance, payroll, and tokenization.
ZeroHash said it has approximately 200 employees worldwide, with offices in New York, Chicago, North Carolina, and Amsterdam.
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APOApollo Asset Management, Inc.$138.001.37%OverviewBLKBlackRock Inc$1156.450.80%DKNGDraftKings Inc$42.30-1.44%FOURShift4 Payments Inc$79.70-0.10%IBKRInteractive Brokers Group Inc$66.171.85%MSMorgan Stanley$160.000.66%SOFISoFi Technologies Inc$27.93-0.68%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
