Highlights
- Copper CEO Amar Kuchinad has departed after two years, as the firm's search for a buyer stretches into a fourth month.
- Cantor Fitzgerald was hired to run the sale process, initially marketing Copper at $500 million.
- Offers have since come in around $200 million, far below the company's peak valuation of more than $2 billion.
- Copper's Clearloop settlement system counts Coinbase, Bitfinex, and Kraken among its clients.
Amar Kuchinad has departed as CEO of crypto custody firm Copper after two years in the role, just as the company's search for a buyer drags into its fourth month. Cantor Fitzgerald was brought in to run the sale process and initially marketed Copper at roughly $500 million, but the offers the company has actually received have come in closer to $200 million — a steep discount from the more than $2 billion valuation Copper commanded at its peak. The departure adds fresh uncertainty to a sale process that was already taking longer, and yielding less, than the company had hoped.
A Widening Gap Between Ask and Offer
Copper built its business around institutional-grade custody and, more specifically, its Clearloop settlement system, which lets clients trade on exchanges without moving assets off Copper's custody infrastructure — a model that has attracted clients including Coinbase, Bitfinex, and Kraken. That client roster underpinned the company's earlier valuation above $2 billion, reached during a period when institutional demand for regulated crypto custody was accelerating and investors were willing to pay a premium for infrastructure providers positioned to benefit from that growth. The gap between Copper's original $500 million asking price and the roughly $200 million offers now on the table reflects a broader repricing of crypto infrastructure valuations relative to where they stood at the height of the last cycle, even as usage of products like Clearloop has kept growing. Kuchinad's exit comes even as Copper has continued building out its executive bench, recently adding Elin Cherry as chief compliance officer and Sean Bowen as chief operating officer — hires that suggest the company was preparing for continued independent operation rather than an imminent close of the sale. His departure without a named permanent successor leaves that leadership transition mid-stream just as potential buyers are doing diligence on the business, and the company has not disclosed who, if anyone, is serving as interim CEO.
What the Discount Says About Custody Valuations
Copper's situation is a useful proxy for how crypto infrastructure businesses are actually being valued right now, as opposed to how they were valued when institutional custody was treated as a scarce, high-multiple category. A company with a genuine client roster spanning some of the largest exchanges in the industry is nonetheless seeing bids at roughly a tenth of its peak valuation, which points to a market where buyers are pricing custody businesses on more conservative, revenue-multiple terms rather than the growth-story premiums common a few years ago. That repricing matters beyond Copper specifically: other custody and infrastructure providers currently exploring fundraising or sale processes are likely to face similar scrutiny from acquirers who have watched this deal play out in public over four months without a close. It also raises a practical question for Copper's own exchange clients about the stability of a settlement provider mid-acquisition and mid-CEO-transition, and it complicates the pitch Cantor Fitzgerald can make to prospective strategic acquirers, who typically want continuity of management as part of any deal.
Related: ABFinance, Founded by Former Bybit Co-CEO Helen Liu, Suspends Operations
What Happens Next
The immediate question is whether Cantor Fitzgerald can close a deal near the $200 million range in the coming weeks or whether the search drags further without a CEO in place to represent the company to prospective buyers. Whoever eventually acquires Copper will inherit both the Clearloop technology and its existing exchange relationships, including institutions like JPMorgan, which has been building out its own digital-asset custody ambitions, but at a valuation that would represent a significant write-down for Copper's earlier investors. Whether a strategic buyer steps in, or the price keeps sliding as the process extends into a fifth month, should become clearer soon.
FAQ
Why did Copper's CEO leave?
Amar Kuchinad departed after two years as the company's four-month search for a buyer continues, with no permanent replacement named.
How much is Copper being sold for?
Current offers are around $200 million, down from an initial $500 million asking price and a peak valuation above $2 billion.
Who is running Copper's sale process?
Cantor Fitzgerald was hired to market the company and manage the sale.
What does Copper actually do?
It provides institutional crypto custody, including its Clearloop settlement system used by exchanges such as Coinbase, Bitfinex, and Kraken.
