Barclays Expected to Invest 'Millions of Dollars' in Copper's Funding Round: Report

U.K. bank Barclays will be among the investors in cryptocurrency custody firm Copper's funding round, according to a report by Sky News.

Barclays is expected to invest a sum in the "millions of dollars" as part of the raise, Sky News reported on Sunday, citing sources. The funding round values Copper at $2 billion and is expected to close in the coming days.
Copper has chosen to become regulated in Switzerland, after it was unable to register with the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority.
Former Chancellor Philip Hammond serves as an adviser for Copper.
Barclays is one of the U.K.'s biggest banks with total assets of around $1.4 trillion as of 2021.
Marcus Sotiriou, an analyst at digital asset broker GlobalBlock, said the bank's move "does not come as a surprise," given Barclays' prior investment in institutional crypto services provider Elwood Technologies in May.
"This shows that although crypto faces significant hurdles, due to the macro environment and a lack of buyers, financial institutions are showing an increase in interest, and the long-term value continues to expand," Sotiriou said.
Neither Barclays nor Copper immediately responded to requests for comment.

UPDATE (14:17 UTC July 25 2022): Amends to add comment from Marcus Sotiriou.

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Jamie Crawley

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