(Bloomberg) — KuCoin, one of the world’s most popular crypto-exchanges, has raised $150 million from investors led by Jump Crypto, boosting its valuation to $10 billion.
Circle Ventures, IDG Capital and Matrix Partners took part in the pre-Series B financing, the Seychelles-based startup said in a statement.
It will use the proceeds to expand in decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens via its own venture investment arms.
Its fundraising coincides with turbulence in global crypto markets as tightening monetary policy to combat runaway inflation curbs liquidity, turning investors away from speculative assets.
Bitcoin dropped below $30,000 on Tuesday for the first time since July, bringing its decline from a November record high to about 55% amid a global flight from riskier investments.
Founded in September 2017, KuCoin was among a slew of crypto upstarts with a Chinese founding team.
But like much-bigger rival Binance, it quickly expanded overseas during Beijing’s crypto-crackdown. KuCoin says it has 18 million users across over 200 countries, and last month it started operations in Turkey.
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KuCoin hosted about $4.7 billion in trading volume over the past 24 hours, roughly two-thirds the turnover handled by Coinbase Global Inc., according to data tracker CoinGecko.
Shares of the U.S. exchange have plunged 67% this year, valuing the firm at about $18.5 billion.
The company operates with a net margin of more than 60% and employs close to 1,000 employees, Chief Investment Officer Justin Chou said in an interview.
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