SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s venture arm, and Japan’s SBI Group have invested in the crypto insurer Soter, CoinDesk reports. They joined a Galaxy-led round expected to bring in about $23 million in cash, plus more than 500 bitcoin and 2,000 ether worth roughly $43 million at current prices.
That would take Soter’s Series B to around $66 million. Earlier backers include Coinbase Ventures, Franklin Templeton and Brevan Howard Digital. CoinDesk’s headline says $23.5 million while its text says $23 million, so the cash figure is approximate.
Soter covers losses from hacks, theft and software failures. Policies are funded in bitcoin or ether and pay claims in the same asset. Chief executive Henson Orser says it can insure up to $5 million, 200 bitcoin or 2,000 ether from its own assets, with larger policies shared with other insurers.
The timing is pointed. The round follows Binance’s $6.3 billion hack on 29 October and the reported $133 million theft involving the French bank Crédit Mutuel Arkéa. Orser described a slight hardening in the market for crime cover after the latest incidents.
He also said insurers are still deciding whether losses caused by rogue agents should be covered or excluded as operator error. The industry has not settled that question.
Soter is based in Abu Dhabi, holds a Bermuda insurance licence and says it has full approval from Dubai’s financial regulator. Its valuation, each investor’s cheque and whether the round has closed are not disclosed.
