Babel Finance has achieved unicorn status after raising $80 million in a funding round that brings the crypto finance provider's value to $2 billion.
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- The lead investors were China-focused venture capital fund Jeneration Capital, U.S.-based crypto investment firm 10T Holdings, and existing shareholders Dragonfly Capital and BAI Capital, according to a press release obtained by CoinDesk. Circle Ventures and other Asia-Pacific-based family offices also participated in the Series B round, the press release said.
- The company provides financial services for Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and stablecoins to a "select clientele of approximately 500 clients," according to the press release.
- At the end of 2021, Babel Finance had an outstanding loan balance of more than $3 billion, up from $2 billion in February of the previous year. Monthly derivatives trading volume averaged $800 million, and the company had structured and traded more than $20 billion worth of options products.
- Babel will use the funds to drive its global expansion and continue its compliance efforts, Del Wang, the company's co-founder and CEO, told CoinDesk in an email.
- "Babel Finance has tapped into a market with high barriers to entry," said Dan Tapiero, CEO and managing partner of 10T. "[It] has built a commendable reputation as a highly specialized and trusted crypto financial institution."
- When asked how the market downturn is affecting the company's operations, Wang said that fundraising shows investor confidence in the company. Since institutional investors are mostly long-term investors, "a bear market can provide opportunities for them."
- The company started in 2018 as a lender to crypto miners in China. Since then, it has targeted institutional investors in Singapore and Hong Kong.