Citi-backed cryptocurrency unicorn Talos acquires DeFi platform Skolem
Talos, a cryptocurrency trading software provider and unicorn backed by giants including Citibank and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), has acquired Skolem, which provides a DeFi access platform.
The transaction size and other terms were not disclosed, but Talos said it will help Skolem expand its on-chain capabilities and connect institutional clients to additional decentralized finance or DeFi services.
Anton Katz, co-founder and CEO of Talos, told The Block: “With this acquisition, Talos will expand its on-chain capabilities and provide customers with access to additional DeFi liquidity pools as well as its Portfolio Management Service (PMS) services. “It will help us expand to DeFi services,” he said. .
“As the digital asset market evolves, many of our clients are interested in accessing these capabilities to diversify their investment strategies or provide these capabilities to their clients through white label products,” Katz added.
Founded in 2020, Skolem provides a platform for institutional investors to access DeFi markets, including trading, staking, lending, and liquidity provisioning on DeFi protocols. Katz said that as part of the acquisition, the Skolem platform will be “fully integrated” into Talos.
Talos-Skolem Transaction
Talos and Skolem first met in 2022 and began working together shortly after, Katz said. Acquisition talks began almost a year ago and the deal was finalized “a few weeks ago,” he added. The transaction is complete and there are no pending approvals, it added.
The size of the transaction was not disclosed, but it appears to be a sizable deal. Skolem raised $20 million in Series A funding in 2022 from high-profile investors including Galaxy Digital, Steve Cohen’s Point72 Ventures, Jump Crypto, and Dragonfly Capital.
Based in New York, Skolem appears to have up to 50 employees, according to its LinkedIn page. Katz declined to comment on Skolem’s specific headcount or whether any employees would join Talos as part of the deal.
Skolem is Talos’ third acquisition.
Talos’ acquisition of Skolem is its third and comes just a month after acquiring cryptocurrency risk management platform Cloudwall. Last year, Talos also acquired D3X Systems to expand its pre-trade capabilities.
Talos is open to more transactions. “We have a phenomenal team building a great product, and we’re having a lot of exploratory conversations about how we can serve the global community of Talos customers,” Katz said.
Talos was valued at $1.25 billion when it raised $105 million in a Series B funding round in 2022. Katz rejected Talos’ latest valuation. In addition to Citibank and a16z, investors include Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, BNY Mellon, PayPal Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, and Fidelity Investments.
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