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Austin-based crypto-finance startup has raised nearly $3 million in seed funding. Unchained鈥檚 first product is a crypto asset-backed loan, which is like borrowing against one鈥檚 home鈥攅xcept the company lends against digital assets such as bitcoin and ethereum.

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Strategic investors include , formerly of Cumberland Mining; , angel investor and co-founder of and; and of Ecliptic Capital; and of Starting Line, an early venture investor in the crypto sector. In addition to making investments in the seed round, Komaransky, Erwin, and Galston will join Unchained Capital鈥檚 board.

The round includes $2.4 million in new capital and $595,000 of SAFE notes converting.

Unchained Capital was founded in 2016 by and , who were previously co-founders of , a data technology startup that was acquired by CSC.

The startup claims it was one of the first companies in the world to lend U.S. dollars in exchange for cryptocurrency. It operates by lending cash to long-term crypto holders who want to maintain ownership but don鈥檛 want to sell their coins. Unchained Capital privately made its first loan in June 2017 and launched publicly in November 2017.

鈥淐rypto ‘whales’ want to diversify their holdings into real estate or other investment opportunities, and they’re willing to give up their Bitcoin in exchange for U.S. dollars for a fee,鈥� said Kelly, who serves as the company鈥檚 CEO. 鈥淭his allows them to keep their crypto and ride the upside while enjoying the ability to invest in other opportunities now.鈥�

In addition to the funding, Unchained Capital is also announcing its expanding its crypto lending platform to accept ethereum (ETH) in addition to bitcoin.

Kelly said that accepting ETH as collateral has been a priority since the company was founded in 2016.

鈥淟ots of customers have asked for it,鈥� he said. 鈥淯nlike other crypto-lenders out there who utilize exchanges, third parties or single sig addresses for collateral storage, we wanted to make sure we offered the most secure storage solution possible before opening up lending publicly.鈥�

The company鈥檚 vision is to build products that turn cryptocurrencies into the most useful assets in the world, Kelly added.

“Personal and business loan borrowers deposit Bitcoin or Ethereum as collateral, and we lend cash in return so that our borrowers can buy homes, deal with life expenses, and start or invest in businesses,鈥� Kelly said.

He said the company is different from competitors in that it does not have 鈥渁n unnecessary token.鈥� Unchained is also the only crypto-lender with a California Finance Lender license, allowing it to serve California borrowers, according to Kelly.

In a written statement, Galston noted that while crypto assets are now a nearly $500 billion asset class, they are functionally 鈥渋nvisible鈥� to the existing financial system.

鈥淗oldings won’t enable consumers to obtain a mortgage, gain credit, or serve as collateral,鈥� he said in a written statement. 鈥淯nchained is bridging that gap.鈥�

Unchained Capital plans to use the new capital toward expanding its engineering and marketing staff and enhancing its financial services and wealth management offerings.