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London-based cryptocurrency custodian Copper is expanding institutional access to the Hedera blockchain via a partnership announced on Tuesday. In particular, Copper will provide custody and staking services for Hedera’s HBAR +0.79% token and operate an on-ramp into the Hedera DeFi ecosystem.

Hedera, a public, decentralized network that uses a bespoke algorithm known as a “hashgraph,” is particularly focused on the emerging world of asset tokenization. Earlier this year blockchain firms Archax and Ownera issued a BlackRock Treasury fund on Hedera — though without BlackRock’s direct involvement. 

"Institutional investors now have a streamlined and secure path into the Hedera ecosystem thanks to Copper's integration,” Shayne Higdon, co-founder and CEO of the HBAR Foundation, told The Block in an email. 

Copper, chaired by former U.K. Chancellor Philip Hammond, has a clientele of over 300 large institutions and crypto trading platforms. The firm provides a number of asset management services and was among the first to build a crypto wallet using multi-party computation (MPC) technology.

HBAR will now be plugged into Copper’s ClearLoop settlement network, which was launched in 2020 and sources liquidity from a network of exchanges and OTC desks like Bybit, Deribit Kraken and OKX. Further, users can now plug the token into various DeFi protocols like Aave using Copper Connect, a Google Chrome risk management application geared towards institutions. 

Hedera, which raised $100 million in 2018 to build out its bespoke proof-of-stake network, has courted several blue chip names, including Google, FIS, Abrdn and Dell, to its governing council.