Bitmain Co-Founder Wu Jihan Turns Second Cryptocurrency Company Matrixport Into Unicorn

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Matrixport, the crypto-finance firm led by Bitmain’s billionaire founder Wu Jihan, raised new capital from investors such as DST Global and Tiger Global, taking its pre-monetary valuation to $ 1 billion (approx. 7,440 crore rupees) in two years since its inception.

The Series C funding round was led by DST Global, C Ventures and K3 Ventures with other participants including Qiming Venture Partners and existing backers like IDG Capital and Dragonfly Capital, the company said in a statement. Monday. The Singapore-based startup has raised over $ 100 million (around Rs. 740 crore) during the round with a second installment to come, chief executive Ge Yuesheng said in an interview.

Crypto banking is still a rapidly growing niche relative to wallets and exchanges, Ge said. Our clients are primarily high net worth individuals in crypto who have a wide range of risk and return expectations.

Matrixport belongs to a group of nascent startups trying to bring a familiar Wall Street formula to the cryptocurrency world. It offers crypto financial services ranging from custody to trading and structured products to institutional and retail clients. As of March of this year, it had more than $ 10 billion (approximately Rs. 74.37 crore) in client assets under management and in custody, the company said.

The company aims to go public in three to five years to offer an exit to investors, Ge said on Monday. It also aims to have hundreds of billions of dollars in assets under management and custody within five years.

Wu separated Matrixport from Bitmain in 2019, after the world’s largest maker of Bitcoin mining rigs experienced a cash flow crisis. In January, he stepped down as chairman and CEO of the company he co-founded seven years ago, ending a multi-year power struggle with his co-founder Micree Zhan. Wu is now president of Matrixport, with Ge, his former Bitmain ally, as CEO. The duo own a controlling stake in the company, Ge said. The price of Bitcoin in India stood at Rs. 29.18 lakhs as of 6 p.m. IST on July 2.

The startup generated revenues of $ 7 million (around Rs.50 crore) to $ 8 million (around Rs. 60 crore) for 2019 and expected them to double in 2020, he said. – she told investors at the launch of a roundtable last year. Ge said the business is profitable, without disclosing any financial figures.

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