Bnk To The Future eyes acquisition of crypto lender SALT

Crypto lending platform SALT has received a buyout offer from a prominent online investment platform — a move the company said could potentially enhance its product offerings and advance its mission of making digital assets more accessible to mainstream audiences. 

Bnk To The Future, or BF, has submitted a letter of intent to acquire SALT for an undisclosed amount, the companies disclosed Friday. The acquisition is contingent on both parties signing definitive agreements and requires regulatory approval. Robert Odell, SALT’s chief product officer, described the potential acquisition as being a unity of first-movers in the cryptocurrency market:

“This potential union will combine SALT, the world's first crypto lending platform, with BF, the world’s first Bitcoin and crypto securities business.”

The agreement, should it go through, would not impact existing SALT customers. “We want to assure you that there will be no changes to your loan as a result of this announcement,” the company said.

Founded in 2016, SALT is one of the first crypto-backed lending platforms to give borrowers the ability to obtain U.S. dollar-denominated loans collateralized by digital assets including Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH). The company’s founding preceded the so-called DeFi Summer of 2020 that saw dozens of decentralized finance protocols reach multi-billion-dollar valuations.

Bnk To The Future is a micro venture capital firm that allows investors to back early-stage fintech and crypto companies for as little as $1,000. Startups can also raise capital through the platform by pitching their products and services directly to investors. Through BK, startups have reportedly raised over $1.7 billion.

Related: VC Roundup: Lightning Network payment rail, DeFi trading platform and blockchain security firm raise millions

With the fallout from crypto contagion slowly subsiding, venture capital continues to back digital asset startups to the tune of billions of dollars. Funding deals were down 43% in July compared to the previous month, but overall capital flows remained remarkably consistent in the first and second quarters.

Between January and July, crypto projects raised $31.3 billion in venture funding, exceeding the $30.5 billion raised in all of 2021, according to Cointelegraph Research.