Old Street Digital announces a $2.8m seed funding round led by Draper Associates

By Joy Dumasia

Old Street Digital announces the closing of a $2.8m Seed funding round led by Draper Associates. OSD is building an institutional asset manager bringing the best of active, fundamental research-driven portfolio management to crypto. The round announced includes participation from Plassa Capital and prominent venture capital and angel investors across Europe, Asia and the US, as well as senior executives from the UK Asset Management industry.

Paul Ridley, CEO of Old Street Digital, said: “There is enormous opportunity for institutional investors in digital assets, but they need a credible product offering from experienced professionals they can trust. We’re building a crypto asset manager to fill this gap with a range of actively-managed funds in an accessible fund structure.” 

Chief Investment Officer Gary Clarke is one of Europe’s most prominent equity portfolio managers. An investor for 27 years, Clarke previously held senior roles at leading fund managers, including Head of Global Equities at Blackrock, where he oversaw USD $31b in client assets, Head of European Equities at Schroders and Head of Thematic Investing at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

“It’s humbling to be supported by investors who understand institutional fund management at the highest level and are backing us to deliver in crypto. Over the last 27 years, I have managed money for many of the largest and most demanding institutional clients in the world. We intend to bring those lessons and disciplines and align them with new technology and talent,” remarked Clarke.

“Old Street Digital’s unique approach applies traditional fund-management expertise to the world of crypto,” said Tim Draper, Founding Partner, Draper Associates. “The Old Street Digital team is well-positioned to provide access to a range of research-backed, crypto-based investment funds, and we at Draper Associates are excited to support them.”

“In any new and complex asset class, top-tier technology, security, and systems are key.” Nic Basson, Chief Operations Officer at OSD, continued, “Delivering crypto-asset exposure in a familiar fund structure is not without its challenges, but the platform we are building offers an institutional-grade option for professional investors.”