Crypto Lender Seeks $1.5Bn Valuation Despite FTX Collapse
- Matrixport Technologies Pte., one of Asia’s biggest crypto lenders formed by Bitmain Technologies Ltd.’s billionaire founder Wu Jihan, is targeting a valuation of over $1.5 billion amid bearish market conditions and is set to raise over $100 million from investors.
- It was revealed that the Singapore-based firm has already received commitments from lead investors for $50 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion in the round.
- Wu turned Matrixport into a unicorn last year when it raised fresh capital from investors including DST Global and Tiger Global along with Qiming Venture Partners, IDG Capital, Dragonfly Capital, C Ventures, and K3 Ventures.
A fall in the price of cryptocurrencies and the implosion of various crypto lending and hedge funds have not deterred Matrixport Technologies Pte., one of Asia’s biggest crypto lenders, as the firm is targeting a valuation of over $1.5 billion amid bearish conditions. Interestingly, this move is not the perfect time to demand such sky-high valuations considering the fact that the now-bankrupt firm Celsius Network was once worth more than $3.5 billion.
Matrixport aims to raise $100 million amid bearish market conditions, and as per Bloomberg, which talked to people familiar with the matter, the deal has yet to be finalized by the firm, which is a crypto-finance venture led by Bitmain Technologies Ltd.’s billionaire founder Wu Jihan. Interestingly, it was revealed that the Singapore-based firm has already received commitments from lead investors for $50 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion in the round. However, the hunt for investors for the second half of the round is still going on before the round can be formally closed.
“Matrixport routinely engages with key stakeholders as part of its normal course of business, including investors keen to participate and enable our vision as a digital assets financial services provider,” the company’s public relations head Ross Gan said, while confirming the plans of raising $100 million.
Meanwhile, the crypto lender did not reveal who these investors are, and the sources asked not to be identified due to the confidentiality of the matter and the state of the market. Interestingly, with the funding, Matrixport will bring the familiar Wall Street formula to the digital asset landscape, combining two industries that are considered far apart from each other but could benefit from each other.
Matrixport is responsible for providing trading and structured products to institutions as well as retail clients. Wu turned his firm into a unicorn last year when it raised fresh capital from investors including DST Global and Tiger Global.
While the Series C funding round was led by DST Global, C Ventures, and K3 Ventures last year in August, Qiming Venture Partners, IDG Capital, and Dragonfly Capital also took part in it.
High-Profile Crypto Failures
There have been some high-profile crypto failures recently but it seems that some investors are still unfazed by the same. Celsius Network, which was possibly a leading cryptocurrency lending platform, collapsed to nothing and filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. Another lending firm Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy as well.
On the other hand, the biggest billion-dollar implosions this year were the collapses of Terra and FTX crypto exchanges, led by Sam Bankman-Fried. The former billionaire pointed fingers at the market condition, which he said affected the value of FTX’s assets.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
