Bridgepoint, the London-listed private equity investor, has struck a £200m deal to buy a digital asset services business amid growing demand for cryptocurrency investments.
Sky News has learnt that Bridgepoint will announce on Tuesday that it is acquiring a majority stake in ht.digital (HT), a digital asset assurance and technology specialist.
HT has a roster of more than 700 clients, including the world’s largest crypto exchanges, as well as asset managers and banks which are seeking greater exposure to the sector.
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That trend is expected to continue despite the rout in crypto assets which has wiped hundreds of billions of dollars off their collective value in the last few weeks – a slump which has had a marked impact on the wealth of President Donald Trump’s family.
Led by Nicholas Newman, its chief executive, HT has offices in London, Malta and the Cayman Islands.
The firm recently became part of BKR International, an association of independent accounting and advisory firms.
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Bridgepoint is said to have identified an opportunity to become an early private equity investor in a sector which faces increasingly intrusive regulation.
Rather than exposing its investors’ capital directly to the wild volatility of crypto asset prices, the London-based buyout firm has chosen the less risky route of gaining access to the sector through a firm offering compliance-driven services.
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HT was carved out of the accountancy group Harris & Trotter in 2023, and has since registered rapid growth by signing up a wave of new clients across exchanges, blockchain platforms and institutional clients.
Bridgepoint declined to comment.
