Lausanne-based blockchain and crypto-currency specialist Metaco has secured significant new shareholders and investment in a highly successful second round of funding. In an indication of the high esteem that Metaco holds in the market, the new investors include Avaloq, Swisscom, Swiss Post and SICPA.

The financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed. Established in 2014, Metaco has rapidly become an expert in helping banks and financial institutions, including national banks, capitalise on the latest blockchain technologies and systems.

It has developed specialist, high-grade cryptographic solutions that can be fully integrated into a bank’s core processes.

Metaco is also a provider of a highly secure custody solution for crypto assets called SILO, which was launched in January 2018. This platform, which is built on its own hardware developed with government and defense supplier Guardtime, delivers NIAP Certified storage and transaction processing to banks and other financial institutions.

Its proprietary offering has continued to differentiate Metaco in the blockchain sector and position the firm at the forefront of the market. With average daily trading volumes constantly increasing, cryptocurrencies and digital assets are beginning to rival some of the world’s most liquid assets as more investors diversify into this new asset class.

Where traditional banks, consultancies and other fintech do provide a blockchain management and advisory service, these are usually not integrated into digital banking channels and rely on third parties or high-risk manual systems that are expensive, inefficient and insecure. Zurich-based fintech Avaloq has acquired a 10% stake in Metaco, the highest amount by a new shareholder, in a move which will significantly enhance Avaloq’s own expertise and solutions with regards to blockchain technology.

Francisco Fernandez, Group Chairman and founder of Avaloq, will join Metaco’s Board of Directors with the aim to help Metaco grow and expand. As a result of the Metaco partnership, there will be no organisational changes within Metaco or Avaloq but there will be close cooperation going forward.

“The enormous potential of distributed ledgers and crypto assets in the banking industry has remained largely unexploited due to the lack of integrated solutions and the radically innovative nature of such systems.

Metaco’s banking products, including our NIAP Certified crypto asset custody solution SILO, have been specifically engineered to remove barriers to entry and bring financial companies forward into this high-growth market.

I am extremely excited by the synergistic potential of our industry-leading investors, whose contribution to Metaco will allow us to specialize even further and accelerate growth in the banking sector.

The high calibre of these shareholders is an indication of the esteem that Metaco has in the market; the new shareholders will, along with Avaloq, also provide significant strategic synergies and business advantages to Metaco as it develops and invests for growth,”

said Adrien Treccani, Founder and CEO of Metaco.

“The aim of Metaco and Avaloq is to help the financial industry with the opportunities and challenges of blockchain technology by offering outstanding solutions in the field of distributed ledger, cryptocurrencies and digital assets.

We believe the world is heading towards accelerated digitalisation of further asset classes and processes. In just four years Metaco has developed into a fast-growth provider of cutting-edge technologies at the heart of the blockchain industry. It is a fantastic opportunity for Avaloq and I greatly look forward to working closely with the Metaco team,”

said Francisco Fernandez, Group Chairman of Avaloq.

“As a trusted banking infrastructure provider and technology partner, Swisscom supports regulated financial companies in their transformation within the crypto currency and crypto asset world. We are convinced by Metaco’s solution and team and our goal is to integrate its leading crypto asset custody solutions into our blockchain crypto property services,”

said Johannes Höhener, Head of Swisscom FinTech.

“Standing idle is not an option when your core business is security. Payments and banking are experiencing major developments and digitalization offers important new opportunities,”

stated Jean-Yves Ray, Marketing Director, SICPA.

“SICPA is proud to partner with and support Metaco because our goals converge around a common pillar – trust. The  projects in prospect are exciting and we are looking forward to providing an expanded portfolio of solutions, including distributed ledger and cryptographic technologies, to respond to our clients’ shifting needs.”

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