Arch, the crypto asset management platform, announced that it completed a $5 million oversubscribed seed round led by DCG and Upload Ventures, formerly Softbank LatAm early-stage arm, to expand its product offering and reach.
Soma Capital, GBV, Devlabs, Ripio Ventures, and Platanus Ventures, plus notable angels participated in the round as strategic investors.
Arch is a decentralized finance (DeFi) asset manager that facilitates exposure to cryptocurrencies and digital assets for passive investors.
The platform created by Arch allows anyone to buy a basket of crypto assets through a single token, in a similar way investors buy ETFs to get broad exposure in the traditional finance market.
Christopher Storaker, CEO of Arch, explains that "Arch develops tokenized index-products, which dramatically simplify how people can build and manage a well-diversified crypto portfolio, saving time and energy."
In stocks, 75% of American investors use passively managed vehicles, such as index funds or retirement plans, according to a recent survey from The Ascent. In crypto, traders are still trying to beat the market, with less than 1% of holding passive products.
Arch allows investors to have passive exposure to digital assets, enabling them to benefit from the growth of the industry without having to spend the time and energy of active trading. “Arch has the potential to redefine how investors build their web3 portfolios. The company is led by some of the brightest crypto minds in Latam” said Norberto Giangrande, Managing Partner at Upload Ventures.
The company is building passive investment vehicles using web3 principles: the platform is permissionless, does not provide individualized advice, and its tokens are self-custodied.
"We are thrilled to be supporting Arch in bringing institutional-grade web3 indices to the market. Arch's on-chain indices fill a clear market gap and allow anyone to get access to crypto factors in a decentralized way." comments Tim Khoury, investor at DCG.
Arch users interact with smart contracts to buy tokens that track indexes constructed by Arch Intelligence, the firm's research arm. Arch Intelligence leverages its proprietary Arch Token Classification Standard (ATCS), an industry first, tracking more than 1,000 classified tokens.
"Facilitating the transition of capital to the decentralized economy has become an important theme in the industry and a purpose for our business," concludes Christopher Storaker.
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