GSR
GSR is a global crypto capital markets firm founded in 2013, providing institutional market making, OTC trading, venture investing, digital asset advisory, and asset management (BESO ETF) to token issuers, exchanges, financial institutions, and asset managers across the US, UK, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What GSR does
GSR, founded in 2013 by former Goldman Sachs traders and headquartered in London, is a global crypto capital markets firm operating across market making, OTC trading, venture investing, digital asset advisory, and asset management. The firm serves institutional counterparties including token issuers, exchanges, financial institutions, payment companies, and asset managers, with regional operating entities in the US, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Spain, and the British Virgin Islands. GSR is the first crypto liquidity provider to achieve dual UK FCA and Singapore MAS regulatory authorization, and GSR Digital LLC holds Money Transmitter Licenses across multiple US states.
The firm's core technology is an algorithmic/quantitative crypto trading platform combining principal market making on centralized and derivatives exchanges, OTC spot and derivatives execution, and DeFi liquidity provision. Internally developed infrastructure includes the Overwatch trading toolkit for algorithmic order logging, execution, PnL, and risk tracking, plus an ML-trained identity verification system and rules-based transaction monitoring for compliance. Integrations span qualified custodians (Anchorage, Copper, Fireblocks), prime brokerage (Coinbase Prime), and blockchain analytics (Elliptic, TRM Labs).
GSR generates revenue through transaction-based fees (bid-ask spreads from market making, principal OTC execution), recurring management fees (1% on the BESO ETF on Nasdaq), managed services fees (corporate digital asset treasury mandates such as the $100M MEI Pharma/Lite Strategy Litecoin PIPE), advisory fees (through the newly formed GSR Digital Asset Advisory unit built from the $57M acquisition of Autonomous and Architech in March 2026), and venture returns. Pricing for market making and OTC is quote-based and trade-size tiered, targeting institutional clients only. In May 2026, Standard Chartered's SC Ventures took a $150M strategic stake at a $1B+ valuation, becoming the firm's first external shareholder and signaling a move toward a tokenized securities and TradFi bridge strategy.
GSR firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- GSR
- Legal name
- GSR International Limited
- Website
- https://gsr.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- GSR is a global crypto capital markets firm founded in 2013, providing institutional market making, OTC trading, venture investing, digital asset advisory, and asset management (BESO ETF) to token issuers, exchanges, financial institutions, and asset managers across the US, UK, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
GSR industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Institutional Crypto Market Making and Liquidity
- NAICS
- Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)
- SIC
- Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Enterprise Payments & Tokenized Money (stablecoins, tokenized deposits, CBDC rails) (FSAPAIAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Treasury Management & Corporate Crypto Yield Programs (FSADAHAL), Crypto Index Providers & Benchmark Administrators (FSADAHAB)
Keywords
Where GSR is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices10 records
Markets served
GSR business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Market Making: Principal market making across centralized and derivatives exchanges, generating revenue from bid-ask spreads and inventory positioning on crypto assets.
- OTC Trading: Institutional OTC spot and derivatives execution as principal; trades are priced and crossed bilaterally, including systematic OTC for tokenized RWAs.
- Asset Management (ETF): Recurring management fee on the GSR Crypto Core3 ETF (BESO), including staking yield capture from Solana allocation.
- Digital Asset Treasury Management: Asset management mandates for corporate crypto treasuries (e.g., MEI Pharma/Lite Strategy $100M PIPE), earning management and performance fees.
- Venture Investing: Early-stage venture investments in crypto startups with returns from token appreciation, equity, and follow-on participation.
- Digital Asset Advisory: Advisory fees from token design, fundraising, governance, and treasury strategy engagements through GSR Digital Asset Advisory (formed from Architech).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | GSR Crypto Core3 ETF (BESO) – 1% management fee, weekly rebalancing, staking yield on Solana |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | OTC & Market Making – Quote-based, trade-size tiered |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels8 records
GSR product offering
Product offeringCore offering
GSR is a global crypto capital markets firm that provides institutional-grade market making, OTC spot and derivatives execution, programmatic trading, and DeFi liquidity across digital asset venues. Beyond its core Markets business, GSR runs Digital Asset Advisory (token design, fundraising, governance and treasury services) formed from the March 2026 acquisition of Architech and Autonomous, an early-stage venture investment portfolio, and asset management anchored by the GSR Crypto Core3 ETF (BESO) — a U.S.-listed multi-asset crypto ETF on Nasdaq offering BTC, ETH and SOL exposure with staking yields.
Product overview
GSR operates as a single integrated crypto capital markets platform combining four interlocking service lines — Markets (Market Making & OTC), Venture (Portfolio), Digital Asset Advisory, and Asset Management (anchored by the BESO ETF) — under the GSR Markets brand. The Markets business (core) provides liquidity, OTC spot and derivatives execution, programmatic trading, and DeFi liquidity across exchanges, token issuers, financial institutions, payment companies, and asset managers. The newly launched GSR Digital Asset Advisory (formed from the March 2026 acquisition of Architech) layers foundation structuring, governance design, token economics, and fundraising strategy on top of Markets. The Autonomous brand (acquired in the same deal) adds dedicated token launch operations. Asset Management is anchored by the GSR Crypto Core3 ETF (BESO), GSR's first U.S.-listed multi-asset crypto ETF on Nasdaq offering BTC/ETH/SOL exposure with staking yields. The Venture arm extends the platform into early-stage protocol investments and incubations, including the Polygon-incubated Katana DeFi Layer-2. GSR Foundation delivers social impact programs. All four service lines share institutional trading infrastructure, custody and compliance integrations, and proprietary research signals across GSR Group entities in Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK, the US, Switzerland, Spain, and the BVI.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- GSR One: GSR's integrated platform referenced on the website navigation linking to gsrone.gsr.io.
- Autonomous
- GSR Digital Asset Advisory
- GSR Crypto Core3 ETF (BESO)
- GSR Foundation
Products and services
- GSR Markets (Market Making and OTC) Core crypto trading and liquidity platform providing principal market making, OTC spot and derivatives execution, programmatic execution, and DeFi liquidity services to exchanges, token issuers, financial institutions, payment companies, and asset managers globally. Operates across GSR Markets Limited (Hong Kong), GSR Markets UK Limited, GSR Markets Pte. Ltd. (Singapore), GSR Markets Switzerland GmbH, and GSR Digital LLC (US).
- GSR Digital Asset Advisory Advisory unit formed from the March 2026 $57M acquisition of Architech and Autonomous, supporting early-stage crypto projects and tokenized organizations with foundation structuring, governance design, token economics, fundraising strategy, and capital planning services across the project lifecycle from formation through scale.
- Autonomous (Token Launch Operations) Token launch operations brand retained under the GSR group following the March 2026 acquisition; provides launch operations, operational support, and financial infrastructure for tokenized organizations under its existing brand identity.
- GSR Crypto Core3 ETF (BESO) First U.S.-listed multi-asset crypto ETF managed by GSR, listed on Nasdaq under ticker BESO on April 22-23, 2026; offers actively managed, weekly rebalanced exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana with built-in staking rewards, charging a 1% annual management fee. Model allocations of 51.4% ETH, 41.67% SOL, and 6.93% BTC; nearly $5M opening-day trading volume.
- GSR Venture (Portfolio Investments) Early-stage venture investment arm deploying capital alongside 13 years of market-making expertise into emerging crypto protocols and infrastructure projects, including Ekiden, Tenbin Labs, Axis, TrueNorth, D2X, BitVault, RateX, and Temne Labs. GSR was the most active crypto VC investor in April 2026 with 4 deals.
Quantifiable outcome
- $57M acquisition of Autonomous and Architech to launch GSR Digital Asset Advisory
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use GSR
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
GSR technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration12 records
AI capability2 records
Feature5 records
GSR partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
GSR competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Wintermute: London-headquartered crypto-native market maker and OTC liquidity provider offering spot, derivatives, DeFi, and venture services — the closest direct peer to GSR's Markets business across institutional and token-issuer client segments.
- Jump Crypto: Crypto arm of Jump Trading; one of the largest crypto market makers and venture investors globally. Competes directly with GSR on centralized-exchange liquidity, derivatives, and token-issuer mandates, with materially larger capital base.
- Cumberland (DRW Trading): Cumberland is DRW's institutional digital-asset trading and market-making business. It is a direct peer to GSR in providing institutional OTC and liquidity services to crypto-native and TradFi counterparties.
- FalconX: Institutional crypto prime brokerage and execution platform offering trading, credit, and custody-adjacent services. Overlaps directly with GSR's institutional OTC and market-making services for asset managers, hedge funds, and corporates.
- B2C2: Institutional crypto liquidity provider and OTC market maker, owned by SBI Holdings. Directly comparable to GSR in serving institutional counterparties across spot and derivatives markets with quote-based pricing.
- Amber Group: Global crypto financial services firm offering market making, asset management, and advisory. Direct peer to GSR's integrated trading + advisory + asset management platform across institutional and token-issuer clients.
- Keyrock: Brussels-based crypto market maker and DeFi liquidity provider. Direct peer to GSR on token-issuer market making, OTC, and DeFi liquidity provision, with comparable venture and treasury-management adjacencies.
- Auros: Crypto-native algorithmic market maker and DeFi liquidity provider, founding member of the Transparency Alliance alongside GSR. Direct peer in token-issuer market making and algorithmic liquidity across CEXs and DEXs.
Broad incumbents
- Galaxy Digital: Public, full-service crypto financial services platform spanning trading, asset management, mining, and venture. Operates at a broader scale than GSR and competes on institutional trading and digital-asset treasury mandates.
- Flow Traders: Public, global traditional market maker that has expanded into crypto ETF liquidity and digital-asset trading. Competes with GSR in ETF market making (including BESO) and institutional crypto liquidity provision.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
GSR social profiles
Digital presenceGSR compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance17 records
GSR financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
GSR leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
GSR subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries7 records
GSR funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
GSR M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A3 records
Investments224 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about GSR
What does GSR do?
GSR is a global crypto capital markets firm that provides institutional-grade market making, OTC spot and derivatives execution, programmatic trading, and DeFi liquidity across digital asset venues. Beyond its core Markets business, GSR runs Digital Asset Advisory (token design, fundraising, governance and treasury services) formed from the March 2026 acquisition of Architech and Autonomous, an early-stage venture investment portfolio, and asset management anchored by the GSR Crypto Core3 ETF (BESO) — a U.S.-listed multi-asset crypto ETF on Nasdaq offering BTC, ETH and SOL exposure with staking yields.
Is GSR a public or private company?
GSR is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was GSR founded?
GSR was founded in 2013. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is GSR based?
GSR is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does GSR make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Market Making is the primary driver. The others are OTC Trading, asset Management (ETF), digital Asset Treasury Management, venture Investing and digital Asset Advisory.
Who are GSR's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Wintermute, Jump Crypto, Cumberland (DRW Trading), FalconX, B2C2, Amber Group, Keyrock and Auros. Broad incumbents are Galaxy Digital and Flow Traders.
Does GSR have an API?
No public API is recorded for GSR.
What industry is GSR in?
GSR's product category is Institutional Crypto Market Making and Liquidity. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAPAIAJ, Enterprise Payments & Tokenized Money (stablecoins, tokenized deposits, CBDC rails), with a secondary code of FSADAHAL, Treasury Management & Corporate Crypto Yield Programs. Its NAICS code is 523 and its SIC code is 6211.