Crypto Facilities, a digital asset service provider, received $1.5 million in seed round financing. The founder was a veteran of JPMorgan Chase

Crypto Facilities, a digital asset trading service provider, has announced that it has received a $1.5 million seed round of financing, led by Pamir Gelenbe’s AngelList Group.

It is reported that the startup, which has obtained an operating license from the UK Financial Conduct Authority, plans to use the money to add new products and cryptocurrencies to its website, expand its team and work more closely with US regulators.

Timo Schlaefer, co-founder and CEO of Crypto Facilities, told CoinDesk:

“For us, adding additional products, assets, derivatives, really expands our platform and gives people more tools to use. We are still relatively limited with bitcoin futures, but we are looking to expand.”

Over the next six to nine months, Schlaefer said the London-based company plans to hire new employees, most of whom will be developers.

Currently, Crypto Facilities has been authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, but it is still unable to serve customers in the United States.

It is reported that Crypto Facilities was founded by senior people from Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas last year. In February, the company reached a cooperation with Ripple to establish an XRP derivative, which is expected to go online later this month. In addition, Crypto Facilities also reached a deal with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group) to establish two Bitcoin price benchmarks, aiming to help manage the risks of Bitcoin investment.

In a conversation with CoinDesk, investor Gelenbe said that the passion of Crypto Facilities’ founders and the relative size of the bitcoin derivatives market compared to traditional derivatives markets were the main reasons that convinced him to participate in the investment.

“Bitcoin derivatives trading is still dwarfed by any mature derivatives market, such as equity derivatives trading,” Gelenbe said. “It’s not mature yet, but we expect to see it in the future.”

Gelenbe said that until now, institutional investors have been shy about investing in Bitcoin due to issues with storage and security, but he expects that to change as new opportunities emerge.

He concluded:

“Those people just want to be able to participate in derivatives trading without owning the product.”

It is reported that other investment companies participating in this round of financing include Playfair Capital, String Ventures, hedge fund veteran Lee Robinson and Digital Currency Group.