Flowdesk, a Paris-based cryptocurrency market maker and liquidity provider, announced it raised $102 million in a funding round led by HV Capital, with participation from funds managed by BlackRock. The capital injection, revealed just after midnight Pacific time, aims to scale the firm’s over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives trading, launch a crypto credit desk, and double its workforce from 100 to 200 by year-end. Coming off a $50 million Series B in January 2024 that pegged its valuation at $250 million, Flowdesk’s latest haul reflects a surging demand for institutional-grade trading infrastructure as the crypto market rebounds in early 2025.
CEO Guilhem Chaumont, who founded Flowdesk in 2020, framed the raise as a response to institutional hunger. “Demand for robust trading infrastructure is exploding,” he said in a statement, noting plans to deepen market connectivity and regulatory coverage. The firm’s flagship Market-Making-as-a-Service (MMaaS) connects over 60 exchanges, supporting 10,000 token issuers with liquidity solutions—a model honed since its $30 million Series A in June 2022. This round, blending equity and a $10 million BlackRock debt facility, will also fund new offices in the UAE and bolster compliance teams for the EU’s MiCA framework, fully active since December 2024.
Flowdesk’s ascent isn’t new. From a team of four in 2021, it grew to 35 by late 2022 and hit 100 after its Series B, fueled by partnerships with Coinbase, Ripple, and Cathay Innovation. Recent hires from the defunct Genesis Global Trading—ex-CFO Charles Tighe among them—bolster its C-suite. The firm’s tech, blending proprietary algorithms and risk tools, minimizes market impact for clients like token issuers and exchanges, a niche that’s paid off: it’s one of four liquidity providers ensuring Grayscale’s ETF tracks Bitcoin’s price, a role Chaumont calls “a substantial share” without disclosing specifics.
Expansion plans are concrete. The UAE office targets Middle East growth, where crypto adoption trails only Asia, per Chainalysis. In Singapore and the U.S., Flowdesk aims to secure licenses by Q3 2025, building on its French AMF registration—the first for crypto market-making in 2019. The credit desk, a novel play, could lend against BTC or ETH collateral, filling a gap left by Genesis’ 2023 collapse. Doubling staff to 200—adding tech and compliance roles—mirrors its 2022 goal of 100, hit ahead of schedule. Chaumont’s vision: a “counterparty-agnostic” infrastructure for a tokenized future.
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