Babel Finance hits a $2b valuation with $80m in funding

Despite recent fluctuations in cryptocurrency prices, many large investors appear to be unfazed. The development of Babel Finance, which provides a range of crypto financial products for institutions, may be an indication of how banks, investment funds, and other traditional investors are adopting the new digital asset category.

Babel Finance lands unicorn status with $80 million series B funding

After raising $80 million in a funding round that valued the crypto financial services firm at $2 billion, Babel Finance became a unicorn. Babel Finance is a Hong Kong-based Bitcoin start-up that offers lending and trading services to big investors.

Babel Finance has completed an $80 million fundraising making it one of the world’s most valuable crypto financial services businesses in the institutional services sector. Babel Finance is the largest wholesale crypto financial services provider on the planet.

This round was led by existing investors, Dragonfly Capital and BAI Capital, and new investors, Jeneration Capital and 10T Holdings. Other participants include Circle Ventures and several family offices from the Asia-Pacific area.

Babel Finance, which has just received fresh cash, plans to grow internationally, especially in the United Kingdom, Latin America, and North America. To that end, the company is looking to double its present staff of about 200 people.

Babel Finance is a large service provider to banks in the crypto financial market. The firm focuses on BTC, ETH, and stablecoins and serves a small group of around 500 customers.

In the third quarter of 2021, Babel Finance had a loan debt of more than $3 billion. It also traded US$800 million in derivatives on a monthly basis. Finally, it created and traded more than $20 billion in option products.

The firm’s major operations are crypto lending and trading, focusing on serving institutional clients, such as cryptocurrency-native institutions, traditional financial institutions like banks and investment funds, and ultra-high-net-worth accredited investors and family offices.

Babel Finance was established in 2018 and is dedicated to constructing crypto financial services infrastructure, becoming an important participant and builder of the crypto-financial interest rate market and derivatives trading market.

Clients are found all around the world, including in Asia, Australia, Africa, and Latin America. Asia accounts for more than 50% of the firm’s income. The business raised $40 million in Series A funding last May. While Babel declined to reveal its valuation following the Series A round, Dealroom estimates it was worth $240.

Crypto companies remain unfazed by the current market situation

The cryptocurrency market is known to be volatile, putting extra strain on asset managers like Babel to maintain a balanced budget. Babel’s source of funding is its assets and “global institutional funding sources,” according to the founder

The recent collapses of Luna and UST-backed stablecoin had no influence” on Babel’s operations because it does not hold any assets related to the currencies and restricts its activities to Bitcoin, ethers, and a handful of stablecoins.

When asked about the market downturn’s effect on their business, Wang, Babel’s co-founder, said that the financing shows investors’ confidence in the company. Institutional investors are typically long-term investors; thus, a bear market may provide possibilities for them.

Unlike other deep-pocketed crypto firms, Babel is now making its venture capital investments in up-and-coming enterprises. Since 2020, it has invested in over ten firms that specialize in cryptocurrencies, brokerage and trading, and decentralized finance (DeFi), although it didn’t specify which ones.

Babel has Luxembourg, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom licenses for “relevant firms,” and it is working with authorities in Singapore, the United States, Australia, Dubai, and Hong Kong to obtain more authorizations. It’sIt’s one of the many crypto companies that have recently established a presence in Singapore which is vying with Hong Kong to be the crypto nexus of Asia.

Despite the adverse market conditions, crypto firms are undeterred. The majority of crypto executives remain dedicated to their goals and optimistic about the future of cryptocurrency. Other businesses in the sector chimed in on this. In 2022, crypto investors have had a challenging year. However, with such a team as Babel Finance at its helm, blockchain technology’s long-term potential remains unchanged.

Not only has the bear market helped to bring securities firms together, but it has also provided an opportunity for some businesses to grow. Since the market downturn, Bebel Finance has seen a rise in the industry. Now than ever before, there is a greater interest in cryptocurrency.

Despite the fact that the market is presently hostile, it appears that cryptocurrencies will endure. Only time will tell what the future holds for this expanding business sector. The statement made by the crypto firm’s representative shows their calm demeanor and optimism about cryptocurrency’s future even amid the current market decline, which was anticipated to provide some excellent opportunities.