Arch, a DeFi cryptocurrency management platform based in Chile, recently announced that it had completed a $5 million seed investment round led by Digital Currency Group and Upload Ventures, the early-stage venture capital arm of SoftBank’s Latin America fund.
Also participating in the round were funds such as Soma Capital, GBV, Techstars, Devlabs, Ripio Ventures, and Platanus Ventures.
Arch is a decentralized finance asset manager facilitating passive investors’ exposure to cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
According to the company’s public announcement, the venture capital funding will refine the platform’s development, connecting to key players in the passive investment market and fostering a unique user experience for new investors in the decentralized finance model.
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Decentralized digital assets
The platform created by Arch allows a general investor to purchase a group of crypto active assets through a single token, much like a traditional market ETF. Arch’s tokens represent different digital assets grouped according to sectoral indexes: blockchain infrastructure, decentralized finance, metaverse, games, etc. The company has recently rated over 1,000 assets and created 16 indexes.
Christopher Storaker, CEO of Arch, said the company develops tokenized index products that “dramatically simplify how people can build and manage a well-diversified cryptocurrency portfolio.”
“By doing so, the platform allows investors to have passive exposure to digital assets and see the portfolio grow without the need to spend time and energy on analysis and buying and selling,” the executive said.
Passive investment exposure
According to the CEO, the startup allows investors passive exposure to digital assets, allowing them to benefit from the industry’s growth without spending time and energy actively 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 Latin America,” 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 excited to support Arch in bringing institutional-grade Web3 indexes to market. Arch’s on-chain indexes fill a clear market gap and allow anyone to access crypto factors in a decentralized manner,” comments Tim Khoury, an investor at DCG.
Arch users interact with smart contracts to buy tokens that track indexes built by Arch Intelligence, the company’s research arm.
Arch Intelligence says it leverages its “proprietary, industry-first” Arch token rating standard (ATCS), tracking more than 1,000 rated tokens.
Arch’s new products
Arch recently debuted two products: the Arch Blockchains, which tracks tokens native to the world’s largest blockchains, such as bitcoin, and the Arch ethereum Web3, which includes tokens from protocols such as Chainlink and Uniswap. Investors can also access standard portfolios ready for specific profiles made for individuals with different risk tolerances.
“Facilitating the transition of capital to the decentralized economy has become an important theme in the industry and a goal for our business,” concludes Storaker.
Since the first quarter of 2022, the company has had a total traded volume of over $2.4 million since the first quarter. The company’s tokens can be sold on Arch’s platform and in decentralized ecosystems such as Zerion and Uniswap.