BCB Group, a U.K.-based business banking challenger for the crypto industry, has raised $4.5 million in a funding round co-led by North Island Ventures and Blockchain.com Ventures, with participation from Pantera, L1 Digital and Pack Capital.

BCB Group CEO Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie said the firm has not urgently needed to raise capital because it is profitable. Still, he said the time had come to attain more licenses – and also make a push into Switzerland and Singapore.

“We want more regulatory licenses in the U.K., EU and Switzerland,” Landsberg-Sadie told CoinDesk in an interview. “These are expensive, not just from a working capital point of view in terms of funding staff. But there's also a regulatory capital aspect. Where our licenses become more bank-like, we have to hold more capital on the balance sheet in reserve.”

Landsberg-Sadie said one of the interesting (and expensive) licenses BCB is pursuing is the Swiss Fintech license, which comes with a connection to the Swiss National Bank. 

Last month, BCB Group launched a treasury services offering aimed at crypto curious chief financial officers. 

BCB has seen about 19-times volume growth over the past 12 months, Landsberg-Sadie said, and in February 2021 the firm processed over $4 billion in payments and trades, according to a press release. Previously, BCB raised $1 million back in May 2019 from crypto investment bank NKB and an angel investor.

The firm plans to raise again later this year, Landsberg-Sadie said.  

“We are going to raise again later this year, probably on a larger scale in the $10 million to $15 million range,” he said.