VersiFi today announced the completion of its Series A funding, led byr Hunting Hill Global Capital. VersiFi will use this funding to launch a new digital assets trading and lending business backed by institutional-grade technology, an experienced management team, and partnerships with third-party custodians.
Martin Garcia, former Genesis Managing Director and co-Head of Trading and Lending, has been appointed co-CEO and will lead VersiFi’s sales, trading, and lending functions. Established technology entrepreneur Sameer Shalaby, who founded VersiFi in 2022, will take charge of all non-trading aspects of the business, including the ongoing development of its low latency plug-and-trade platform.
“We are working with Hunting Hill to bring the best tradfi and digital assets talent together to build a stronger market environment,” said Sameer Shalaby, co-CEO, VersiFi. “Martin’s depth of experience and understanding of both markets and client needs are invaluable qualities that will help us achieve our goals. We are fully committed to developing a digital assets ecosystem that sees market participants working together to minimize risk and provide customers with a robust market structure that helps them trade responsibly.”
Martin Garcia is a skilled trading and financial markets leader whose experience spans both traditional and digital assets. He previously served as Managing Director and co-Head of Trading and Lending at Genesis, where he helped create and scale the company’s digital assets business, including developing market-pioneering products and services. He also led Genesis’s sales efforts and was responsible for client relationships, including those with leading hedge funds, market makers, lenders, and exchanges. Garcia left Genesis in August 2021.
“I’m excited to be joining Sameer and the talented team at VersiFi,” said Martin Garcia, co-CEO, VersiFi. “Institutional investors are ready for a reliable way to scale their activity in digital assets. They need the highest grade technology, risk management, and trading and lending services, which is exactly what we are building at VersiFi. Now is the right time to combine a high-touch trading mindset with Sameer’s seasoned tech-forward approach to markets.”
“The promise and potential of digital assets are still very clear,” said Adam Guren, CEO, Hunting Hill. “VersiFi’s talented team, which now includes Martin, has the experience across trading, lending, and technology to help evolve digial assets market structure in the right way. We’re excited to be working with them and contributing our own expertise to help realize this potential.”