Former Morgan Stanley Traders Turn Crypto Startup Into Unicorn

Former Morgan Stanley Traders Turn Crypto Startup Into Unicorn

(Bloomberg) --

A group of former Morgan Stanley traders has turned their cryptocurrency venture into a unicorn by bringing Wall Street strategies to the brave new world.

Amber Group, founded in 2018, raised $100 million from investors including DCM Ventures and Tiger Global Management, ramping up its valuation tenfold to $1 billion in just 18 months. The Series B fundraising also includes China Renaissance Group, Tiger Brokers, Gobi Partners and existing backers such as Coinbase Global Inc. and Pantera Capital, Hong Kong-based Amber said.The startup is one of a crop of fledging firms developing financial services -- from over-the-counter trading to derivatives and structured products -- for professional crypto traders and investors. Last month, Beijing-based crypto lender Babel Finance raised $40 million with backing from Sequoia Capital China and Tiger Global, while Matrixport, started by Bitmain's influential founder Jihan Wu, is also seeking a new capital injection.