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Easy Crypto, a New Zealand cryptocurrency exchange, has raised $11.5 million in a Series A funding round. The round was led by Nuance Connected Capital, a venture capital fund.
An announcement from the exchange states that this funding round “seemed to have set a new record in New Zealand” as the largest Series A funding round for a local institution. The co-founder and CEO of Easy Crypto, Janine Grainger, stated that it was difficult for the exchange to get funding during its first years of operation.
Funds will Boost growth
Easy Crypto has stated that the funds raised during this funding round will be used to boost the firm’s growth in terms of product and technological advancement. The firm will also have the funding needed to expand to new markets in Indonesia and the Philippines.
Grainger further held an interview with a local publication stating that part of these funds will be used to boost its overseas operations and target South East Asia Markets. “The reason that we’re targeting those markets was that there is a large population of people who are unbanked or underbanked and don’t have the same access to financial products like you and I do.”
The firm also added that the firm is looking towards a potential IPO. “We are still working out what that looks like and what plans there are for us into the future, but very likely we would be looking at an IPO,” he added.
Impressive Performance
Grainger further commented on the exchange’s financial results. He stated that the revenues for the past financial year came in at $3.46 million, and its current financial performance shows that these revenues could double in this financial year.
Easy Crypto also noted that its customer base had increased by almost five times over the past year. Speaking on this growth, Grainger stated that the volatility of cryptocurrencies had taken the exchange a while for it to find investors who wanted to be part of the exchange’s activities.
The crypto industry in New Zealand has been somewhat rocky following the events of the now-closed exchange, Cryptopia. This exchange suffered a major hack in 2019, and over $16 million worth of cryptocurrencies was stolen from the platform. Moreover, a former employee of the exchange pled guilty to stealing around $172,000 worth of crypto that he gained access to after duplicating the private keys of a user who had an account with the exchange.
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