Cryptocurrency
Hong Kong's Animoca Brands raises $359m at $5b valuation
US-based Liberty City Ventures has led a USD 359m round for Hong Kong blockchain media company Animoca Brands at a pre-money valuation of USD 5bn, more than double its valuation in October.
Metaverse: Too concrete to ignore
As lives lived online find a virtual world to call home, investors, brands, governments, corporations, and accountants follow them in. Real estate, avatars, and new ideas are in demand. Goggles are not
2022 preview: Blockchain
A broader range of investors will play in the blockchain space as new applications are normalized, although regulation remains the wildcard. Developing markets will punch above their weight
Australia fintech player Finder raises $21m
Finder, an Australian financial technology start-up with a diversified suite of retail investor services, has raised A$30 million ($21.5 million) from local VC firm Future Now Capital.
HNWIs & private equity: The road to retail
From B2C aggregation platforms to nascent blockchain-based products, solutions that bring alternatives to the mass market are emerging. Providers prefer to be labeled enablers than disrupters
Q&A: Thoma Bravo’s Orlando Bravo
Orlando Bravo, founder and managing partner of Thoma Bravo, which claims to be the largest PE investor in software globally, on SaaS in a post-COVID-19 world, the rise of blockchain, and opportunities in Asia
Singapore crypto exchange AscendEX raises $50m
Singapore crypto platform AscendEX has raised a $50 million Series B led by US-based sector specialists Polychain Capital and Hack VC.
Vision Fund leads $93m Series B for Hong Kong NFT platform
SoftBank Vision Fund 2 has led a $93 million Series B round for Hong Kong non-fungible token (NFT) platform The Sandbox, a subsidiary of locally based category leader Animoca Brands.
Deal focus: Crypto promises frictionless wire transfers
Hong Kong’s XanPool is tapping a growing universe of cryptocurrency holders to speed up traditional money transferring processes while reducing costs. Valar Ventures offers support
Hong Kong's FTX raises $420m, hits $25b valuation
Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange operator FTX has raised $420 million at a valuation of $25 billion from a group of 69 investors.
Hong Kong's Animoca Brands raises $65m at $2.2b valuation
Hong Kong non-fungible token (NFT) company Animoca Brands has raised $65 million from a group featuring Sequoia Capital China, more than doubling its pre-money valuation since May to $2.2 billion.
India's Coinswitch Kuber raises $260m
Indian crypto exchange Coinswitch Kuber is claiming to be the largest app of its kind locally following a $260 million Series C round featuring Andreessen Horowitz at a $1.9 billion valuation.
Vietnam NFT start-up Axie Infinity raises $152m
Andreessen Horowitz has led a $152 million Series B round for Vietnam-based non-fungible token (NFT) gaming start-up Axie Infinity, also known as Sky Mavis.
Asia crypto asset management platform raises $40m
Cobo, a Singapore-based crypto asset management platform and blockchain infrastructure provider, has secured a $40 million Series B round led by DST Global, A&T Capital, and IMO Ventures.
China-focused NFT marketplace Cybertino raises $10m
A group of Chinese investors including Sky9 Capital, Ince Capital, and Draper Dragon have joined a $10 million round for non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Cybertino Lab.
Thai bank joins $41m round for local crypto platform
Thailand’s Bank of Ayudhya has joined a $41 million Series B round for local cryptocurrency exchange operator Zipmex.
CDIB leads round for Taiwan crypto-fiat start-up
CDIB Capital Group has led a $17 million pre-Series A round for Xrex, a Taiwan-based financial technology player that uses blockchain to facilitate cross-border payments by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Blockchain: Going mainstream
The most disruptive technology in financial services is also the most esoteric and misunderstood. As a long, speculative uptake phase unfolds, investors are coming to terms with the future
NFTs: Spirits in an invisible world
The use of blockchain to create digital assets has evolved from the mass circulation of ethereal, volatile, and interchangeable tokens into something that feels much more real
CoinDCX raises $90m, becomes India’s first crypto unicorn
B Capital Group has led a $90 million Series C round for Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX at a valuation of $1.1 billion, making it the country’s first crypto unicorn.
Lightspeed leads $35m round for Indonesia crypto player
Lightspeed Venture Partners has led a $35 million Series A extension for Pintu, one of Indonesia’s leading cryptocurrency wallets and trading platforms. It follows a $6 million tranche in May.
Asia digital assets platform Matrixport hits $1b valuation
Matrixport, a two-year-old crypto financial services platform based in Singapore, has closed a $100 million Series C round at a valuation of $1 billion.
India crypto platform raises $25m Series A
Indian cryptocurrency borrowing and lending platform Vauld has raised a $25 million Series A round led by Valar Ventures, a firm co-founded by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.
Hong Kong-based crypto exchange FTX raises $900m
FTX, a Hong Kong-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange, has raised $900 million in Series B funding at a valuation of $18 billion, up from $1.2 billion on closing the Series A last year.