SINGAPORE – Tokenize Xchange aims to quintuple its number of employees in Singapore after raising an additional US$11.5 million (S$15.4 million).
The Singapore-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange told The Straits Times that it plans to expand its Singapore team from 20 to 100 staff within the next 18 months.
The exchange said about a quarter of its new hires will focus on strengthening compliance and operations, and the move comes as global regulators move to tighten regulations in this area. He added that it reflects the efforts of
The exchange announced that it has secured US$11.5 million in Series A, Phase 2 funding from local venture capitalist firm Tribe and other high-net-worth individuals.
Series A funding refers to the first round of venture funding that a company raises following seed or angel investors.
This investment brings total Series A funding to US$23 million, more than half of the exchange's goal of US$33 million by the end of the year.
Trive, which invests in high-growth technology startups, previously led the first phase of the exchange's Series A funding in 2022 with an investment of US$11.5 million.
The exchange said its expansion will help it adapt to complex regulatory frameworks across Southeast Asia.
The company has applied for a digital payment token license in Singapore and is currently operating under an exemption.
The company was one of the first three digital asset exchanges to receive full approval from the Securities Commission Malaysia in April 2020, and is the second largest digital asset exchange in Malaysia.
The funding comes at a time when the crypto market is recovering from a massive sell-off in 2022 and 2023, following the collapse of prominent players such as US exchange FTX and hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. .
Hong Qi Yu, founder and chief executive officer of Tokenize, said the crypto bull market has begun with Bitcoin prices peaking last week, giving exchanges a good opportunity to gradually expand their teams. He pointed out that there was.
Bitcoin topped $71,000 for the first time a week ago, rising almost 70% this year on the back of heavy inflows into U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The improved sentiment towards cryptocurrencies has been boosted by the launch of a Bitcoin ETF in the United States in recent months, with investors pouring in billions of dollars and sparking a broad rally in the crypto market.
On March 11th, the London Stock Exchange also confirmed that it will accept applications to accept Bitcoin and Ether listed banknotes.
Asked about ongoing plans, Hong said the company plans to launch its own mainnet. Mainnet stands for Main Network and refers to the main blockchain network where real transactions occur and native cryptocurrencies are used.
“Furthermore, we are in the process of obtaining a digital payment token license from a Southeast Asian country while awaiting license approval in Singapore. Future strategies include securing digital payment licenses in Taiwan, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.” “This includes doing so,” he added.
Founded in 2017, Tokenize operates in key Asian markets including Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, serving both retail and institutional investors.
