coinfomania.com
Hong Kong-based crypto financial services provider Babel Finance has raised $80 million in a Series B funding round at a $2 billion valuation.
Babel Hits $2B Valuation
The round was led by global investment firm Jeneration Capital and 10T Holdings. The investment round also saw participation from other industry investors including Dragonfly Capital, BAI Capital, Circle Ventures, and a number of family offices in the Asia-Pacific region.
Commenting on the latest fundraiser, Del Wang, co-founder and CEO of Babel Finance, said:
“As the crypto financial industry becomes more institutionalized, our mission at Babel Finance is to explore and participate in the building of the fundamental financial order and rules for the industry. By doing so, we contribute to its long-term development as we ourselves grow.”
Babel offers crypto-asset lending and trading services to about 500 selected institutional clients. Unlike other crypto service providers, Babel focuses on just bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), and stablecoins such as Tether USDT.
Last year, the firm recorded an outstanding loan balance of over $3 billion, averaged $800 million monthly trading volume in derivatives, and traded more than $20 billion in options.
Babel said the latest funding will be used to expand its business globally, regulatory compliance push, and increase its workforce. The firm currently hires over 170 employees and has applied for licenses in Hong Kong, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom.
Investors Continue to Bet Big on Crypto Startups
Despite the recent crypto market downtrend, investors don’t seem to be fazed by the situation, rather thinking long-term thereby continuing to invest largely in crypto-related startups.
Early last week, crypto exchange Elwood reached a $500 million valuation after securing $70 million in a funding round led by banking giant Goldman Sachs and venture fund Dawn Capital.
Shortly after, blockchain video game developer, N3TWORK announced it has raised $46 million in Series A funding led by Griffin Gaming Partners with participation from Kleiner Perkins, Galaxy Interactive, KIP, Floodgate, and LLL Capital.
Earlier today, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), an American venture capital firm, secured $4.5 billion to fund Web 3.0 startups.