Key Takeaways
- • Standard Chartered's venture arm SC Ventures and Japan's SBI Group invested in crypto insurer Soter Insure, bringing its Series B funding to about $66 million including bitcoin and ether, according to CoinDesk.
- • Soter reported total backing of about $23 million in cash plus more than 500 BTC (about $38.4 million) and 2,000 ETH (about $4.5 million) at current prices.
- • The round was led by Galaxy, with earlier investors including Coinbase Ventures, Franklin Templeton and Brevan Howard Digital.
- • Soter says it can insure losses of up to $5 million, 200 BTC or 2,000 ETH from its own assets, and uses partner insurers for larger policies.
- • Soter holds a Bermuda insurance license and full license approval from Dubai's financial regulator, and plans to expand in Asia, Europe and the U.S.
Summary
Standard Chartered's venture arm and Japan's SBI Group have invested in Soter Insure, a crypto insurer headquartered in Abu Dhabi, according to CoinDesk. The investment joins a Series B round led by Galaxy, which Soter announced on Thursday. Earlier investors included Coinbase Ventures, Franklin Templeton and Brevan Howard Digital. Including bitcoin and ether, the Series B raise totals about $66 million at current prices.
Soter insures cryptocurrency losses from hacks, theft and software failures. Its policies are funded in bitcoin or ether and pay claims in the same currency. The company says the investment will expand its insurance capacity and support growth in Asia, Europe and the United States as banks and asset managers increase their use of digital assets. Soter founder and CEO Henson Orser told CoinDesk that crypto raised along the way has been used to fund insurance programs in that native currency rather than as working capital. He said the company can insure losses of up to $5 million, 200 BTC or 2,000 ETH from its own assets. Larger policies are shared with other insurers, and the funds are held in separate accounts in cold storage at regulated custodians.
Soter operates under a Bermuda insurance license that permits it to insure risks in both crypto and traditional currencies. It also received full license approval from Dubai's financial regulator and has offices in London, New York and Dubai.
The raise comes after Binance's $6.3 billion hack on Oct. 29 and a reported $133 million theft involving French bank Crédit Mutuel Arkéa. Orser said the market for crime coverage has hardened slightly following these incidents, with insurance prices for theft-related losses rising, though he described the market as still evolving. He also noted that the industry has not settled how to treat losses caused by autonomous AI agents that execute transactions for users, with insurers still deciding whether such incidents should be covered or excluded as operator error. Orser said, "Banks can't scale in digital assets without the risk protection they rely on everywhere else, and today that protection is still scarce."
Soter insures cryptocurrency losses from hacks, theft and software failures. Its policies are funded in bitcoin or ether and pay claims in the same currency. The company says the investment will expand its insurance capacity and support growth in Asia, Europe and the United States as banks and asset managers increase their use of digital assets. Soter founder and CEO Henson Orser told CoinDesk that crypto raised along the way has been used to fund insurance programs in that native currency rather than as working capital. He said the company can insure losses of up to $5 million, 200 BTC or 2,000 ETH from its own assets. Larger policies are shared with other insurers, and the funds are held in separate accounts in cold storage at regulated custodians.
Soter operates under a Bermuda insurance license that permits it to insure risks in both crypto and traditional currencies. It also received full license approval from Dubai's financial regulator and has offices in London, New York and Dubai.
The raise comes after Binance's $6.3 billion hack on Oct. 29 and a reported $133 million theft involving French bank Crédit Mutuel Arkéa. Orser said the market for crime coverage has hardened slightly following these incidents, with insurance prices for theft-related losses rising, though he described the market as still evolving. He also noted that the industry has not settled how to treat losses caused by autonomous AI agents that execute transactions for users, with insurers still deciding whether such incidents should be covered or excluded as operator error. Orser said, "Banks can't scale in digital assets without the risk protection they rely on everywhere else, and today that protection is still scarce."
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