Ian Allison Ian Allison is an award-winning senior reporter at CoinDesk. He holds ETH. Follow @ IanAllison123 on Twitter Cryptocurrency custodian Finoa has received three license approvals from Germany's financial regulator BaFin, going against the grain of regulatory clampdowns and uncertainly happening elsewhere in the crypto space. Finoa, which has been operating under a preliminary crypto custody license since January 2020, also closed a strategic venture round led by new investor Middlegame Ventures and including existing investors Balderton Capital, Coparion, Venture Stars, and Signature Ventures. The size of the investment was not disclosed. Given the general state of regulatory uncertainty across crypto markets, including the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announcing plans to focus specifically on crypto custodians, the seal of approval from BaFin couldn’t come at a better time, said Finoa co-founder Chris May. “The custody license in particular is a very reassuring message to our customers and differentiates us from many other players in the market,” said May in an interview. “The preliminary regulatory status we have been under since the beginning of 2020 follows the same checkpoints and standards which the SEC followed through on a couple of weeks ago. ” In addition to the custody approval, Finoa received the go-ahead for broker dealer and prop trading licenses, which allows the firm to trade with its own treasury but not against its customers, May pointed out. Finoa raised a $22 million Series A round back in 2021. Regarding the undisclosed level of this new funding, May said it wasn't a major Series B round. “As part of the license approvals we wanted to strengthen our statutory or regulatory capital,” he said. “Adding some millions to our balance sheet portrays trust to our customers and allows us to leverage the licenses to the fullest. ” DISCLOSURE Please note that our privacy policy , terms of use , cookies , and do not sell my personal information has been updated . The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies . CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group , which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups . As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights , which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG . Ian Allison Ian Allison is an award-winning senior reporter at CoinDesk. He holds ETH. Follow @ IanAllison123 on Twitter Learn more about Consensus 2023 , CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus. coindesk. com to register and buy your pass now. Ian Allison Ian Allison is an award-winning senior reporter at CoinDesk. He holds ETH. Follow @ IanAllison123 on Twitter.