Meet Finoa, They Want to Build a Crypto Bank — Founder Interview
- Jörn Menninger
- Mar 15
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 30
This story was migrated from our old blog, originally published on February 17th 2022
What Is This About?
Berlin-based Finoa is building a regulated crypto bank for institutional investors. The startup provides custody, staking, and other digital asset services with the security and compliance standards that professional investors require — positioning itself at the intersection of traditional finance and crypto.
This article is part of our coverage of Scaleup Founder Interviews from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.
The best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups.
In this interview we speak to Henrik Gebbing (https://www.
The co-founders started Finoa (https://www.
In April 2021 they announced a 22 mn US$ Series A funding, which is sizeable for Germany, as well as for crypto at the time.
Meet Finoa, They Want to Build a Crypto Bank — Founder Interview Startuprad.io brings you independent coverage of the key developments shaping the startup and venture capital landscape across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
This story was migrated from our old blog, originally published on February 17th 2022
New Blog
This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.com/startuprad-io), and was moved to this blog with the relaunch of our website in summer 2024.
When I started in crypto, I had to manage so many wallets and platforms, that I could not imagine how complicated it would be for an institutional investor. We started FINOA to help with that.Henrik Gebbing, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of FINOA
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In 2019, when we started, we had a really hard time convincing investors to invest in a crypto startup.Henrik Gebbing, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of FINOA
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We want to be the No 1 crypto custodian for institutional investors in Europe.Henrik Gebbing, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of FINOA
The Founder
In this interview we speak to Henrik Gebbing (https://www.linkedin.com/in/henrik-gebbing-finoa/), the Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Finoa, a Berlin-based crypto fintech, which is already one of the hidden champions. They are a global top 5 crypto custodian for institutional investors. Henrik attended Golden Gate University in San Francisco as a Fulbright Scholar and got his MBA at IE Business School in Madrid. He later worked as a consultant with McKinsey, but after 4 years jumped ship to start Finoa. He developed the idea, that would later become Finoa with his roommate (and now co-founder) on the kitchen table in Madrid, while studying for his MBA.
Globally we want to maintain one of the top 5 spots for crypto custody.Henrik Gebbing, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of FINOA
The Startup
The co-founders started Finoa (https://www.finoa.io/) in Berlin. Their driving idea was — and still is — to support institutional investors to go into crypto. They also support wealthy individuals, who hold substantial amounts of crypto assets of more than 100.000US$. Finoa is a custodian, meaning they keep — on behalf of their clients — their crypto assets save. At the time of the interview, they have around 400 customers. Their clients include the crypto holdings of Rocket Internet, T-Systems, US-based VCs and hedge funds.
In April 2021 they announced a 22 mn US$ Series A funding, which is sizeable for Germany, as well as for crypto at the time.
We hold assets for entities in Asia and Silicon Valley, but our focus market is the European Union.Henrik Gebbing, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of FINOA
Venture Capital Funding
FINOA announced their Series A funding of 22 mn US$ in April 2021(LINK). FINOA is open to discussions with investors, but they are not actively looking for new investors.
Fintech is fast, but crypto is warp-speed.Henrik Gebbing, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of FINOA
The Video Interview is set to go live on Thursday, February 17th, 2022 at 16:00 CET
For our business, paranoia is a very nice concept.Henrik Gebbing, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of FINOA
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This interview was conducted by Jörn “Joe” Menninger, startup scout, founder, and host of Startuprad.io. Reach out to him:LinkedInTwitterEmail
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What Is Finoa?
Finoa is a Berlin-based crypto custody and banking startup building institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure. Co-founded by Henrik Gebbing, the company raised $22 million in a Series A in April 2021 — a sizeable round for the German crypto space. Finoa aims to become a fully-fledged crypto bank serving institutional investors and enterprises.
Introduction
In this founder interview originally published February 17th, 2022, Startuprad.io speaks with Henrik Gebbing, co-founder of Finoa. The Berlin-based startup is building a crypto bank with institutional-grade custody services for digital assets. Finoa raised a $22 million Series A in April 2021, positioning it as one of the better-funded crypto infrastructure startups in Germany. The interview explores how Finoa is bridging traditional banking and the crypto ecosystem.
Finoa is building the institutional crypto custody and banking infrastructure that professional investors need to safely access digital assets. Co-founded by Henrik Gebbing in Berlin, the company secured a significant $22 million Series A in April 2021. Finoa positions itself at the regulated end of the crypto spectrum, providing the security and compliance framework that institutional investors require. The company represents Germany's growing role in crypto infrastructure alongside regulatory innovation.
Finoa is building a crypto bank with institutional-grade digital asset custody services from Berlin.
Co-founder Henrik Gebbing raised $22M in a Series A in April 2021, a sizeable round for German crypto.
The company targets institutional investors who need regulated custody solutions for digital assets.
Finoa bridges traditional banking compliance with crypto asset management.
Entities Referenced in This Episode
Henrik Gebbing — Co-founder of Finoa
Finoa (finoa.io) — Berlin-based crypto custody/bank, $22M Series A
Topics: Crypto custody, crypto bank, digital asset management, institutional crypto, German crypto regulation
Quote Highlights
Finoa is a Berlin-based crypto custody and banking startup building institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure.
Co-founded by Henrik Gebbing, Finoa raised $22 million in a Series A to build the crypto bank professional investors need.
Finoa provides institutional crypto custody and banking infrastructure so professional investors can safely access digital assets.
The company is positioning itself at the intersection of traditional finance and crypto, building the regulated infrastructure layer for digital assets.
Related Episodes on Startuprad.io
Nuri/Bitwala Insolvency — A different crypto bank story — Nuri's collapse
FTX Collapse — Broader crypto ecosystem challenges
Browse all episodes — Topic hub: Crypto and digital assets
Relationship Map
Finoa → raised → $22 m
Berlin. Co-founder Henrik Gebbing → raised → $22M
Jörn "Joe" Menninger → Host of → Startuprad.io
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What is Finoa and what does it do?
Finoa is a Berlin-based startup building a crypto bank with institutional-grade custody for digital assets. It provides regulated infrastructure for institutional investors, enterprises, and professional traders to safely hold and manage cryptocurrency.
What are the main takeaways from this discussion?
Crypto custody refers to the secure storage and management of cryptocurrency and digital assets. Institutional crypto custody, as provided by Finoa, adds regulatory compliance, insurance, and enterprise-grade security that professional investors require.
About the Host
Joern "Joe" Menninger is the host of the Startuprad.io podcast and covers founders, investors, and policy developments across the DACH startup ecosystem. Through more than 1,300 interviews and nearly a decade of reporting, he documents the evolution of the European startup landscape. Follow Joern on LinkedIn.
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