Market Maker Keyrock Hits $1.1B Valuation as Traditional Finance Doubles Down on Crypto Infrastructure

Keyrock, the Brussels-based crypto market maker, just closed a Series C funding round at a $1.1 billion valuation—and the lead investor tells you everything about where institutional capital is flowing right now. Standard Chartered's venture arm, SC Ventures, backed the round alongside existing investor Ripple, signaling that legacy finance sees serious opportunity in the crypto market infrastructure space.

Here's what matters: Keyrock operates the plumbing that moves liquidity across crypto markets. The company provides market-making services to over 85 centralized and decentralized platforms, handles more than 550,000 daily trades, and has expanded into 1,300 new markets. That's the kind of operational scale that attracts traditional institutional money.

The Capital Deployment Strategy

Keyrock's CEO Kevin de Patoul framed this raise as "a signal of intent for the future," with the fresh capital earmarked for three strategic priorities: strengthening the balance sheet, expanding product offerings, and aggressive acquisition activity as the company scales globally. This isn't capital-raising theater—it's a documented growth roadmap.

The timing is particularly interesting given Keyrock's trajectory. In 2022, the company raised $72 million in Series B funding from Ripple, SIX Fintech Ventures, and Middlegame Ventures, capital it deployed to build out infrastructure, scalability tools, and regulatory licenses across Europe, the US, and Singapore. Last year, management doubled down by acquiring Turing Capital, a Luxembourg-based alternative investment fund manager, effectively pivoting into asset and wealth management.

Why Banks Care About Market Makers

Alex Manson, CEO of SC Ventures, spelled out the thesis clearly: as tokenized assets scale, full-service crypto infrastructure providers like Keyrock will become essential intermediaries for institutions. Standard Chartered itself is backing this conviction with real capital—Cointelegraph reported in 2025 that SC Ventures was preparing a $250 million fund dedicated to digital assets.

This reflects a broader trend in institutional crypto adoption. Banks aren't betting on crypto as speculation; they're betting on it as infrastructure. Market makers are the connective tissue between traditional finance and decentralized systems, providing the liquidity depth and operational reliability that institutions demand. When Ripple co-invests alongside Standard Chartered, you're seeing validation from both the crypto-native and traditional finance sides.

Founded in 2017, Keyrock has built credible operational depth—the kind that takes years to develop. Processing over half a million trades daily, maintaining liquidity across 85+ platforms, and navigating regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions isn't trivial. That's institutional-grade infrastructure.