PUBLISHED ONJune 10, 2021 9:11 AM
Cryptocurrency investment platform to tap into Asia's fast-growing retail investor market
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- British hedge fund billionaire Alan Howard has become the latest backer of Asia-based crypto start-up Kikitrade, bringing its total capital raised to US$12 million.
- Kikitrade closed its $8m pre-series A funding round in April co-led by Sequoia-affiliated Dragonfly Capital and blockchain gaming unicorn Animoca Brands, with participation from the likes of Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin.
- The new funds will help Kikitrade accelerate growth in key markets, including Southeast Asia, Australia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
HONG KONG, June 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cryptocurrency investment platform Kikitrade today announced that it has received US$4 million in strategic funding from British hedge fund billionaire Alan Howard, underlining strong investor appetite in Asia's upsurging digital asset market.
Allen Ng, co-founder of Kikitrade said the strategic backing from the legendary investor Alan Howard gives him and the team a great deal of confidence to continuously innovate and drive the mass adoption of digital assets.
Alan Howard's backing came shortly after Kikitrade closed its US$8 million pre-series A funding round in April, joined by a group of eminent international investors including Sequoia-affiliated Dragonfly Capital, blockchain gaming unicorn Animoca Brands and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin. The extended round brought Kikitrade's total capital raised to US$12 million.
Debuted in Q4 2020, Kikitrade has recorded a robust growth in 2021, with its total number of registered users doubling in the last two months. More than two-thirds of its users are millennials or Generation Z.
The fresh capital will be invested in continuous product innovation, compliance, and user acquisition across Asia - with an emphasis on Southeast Asia, Australia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong - where cryptocurrencies' penetration rates are significantly lower than that in the United States.
Allen Ng, co-founder of Kikitrade, said, "The strategic backing from Mr. Alan Howard, a legendary investor that my team and I look up to, gives us a great deal of confidence to continuously innovate and drive the mass adoption of digital assets."
"Kikitrade has built an extremely user-friendly platform to enable adoption of digital assets among millennials and Gen Z users and we are very excited to partner with the team as they scale the platform in APAC," said Alan Howard.
About Kikitrade
Kikitrade is an all-in-one crypto investment platform that allows beginners to purchase and manage digital assets at ease, with a minimum investment amount of just US$1. The company was incubated by Everest Ventures Group (EVG) in 2020, a digital assets company that has participated in many renowned blockchain projects. Kikitrade strives to be the most secure and user-friendly gateway for millennials and first-time investors to start their crypto investments.
About Alan Howard
Alan Howard is the co-founder of Brevan Howard Asset Management, one of the world's top macro-hedge funds. He has invested in multiple leading companies in the blockchain space, including Europe's largest digital assets investment house Coinshares, Intercontinental Exchange-owned crypto start-up Bakkt, and EOS's developer Block.one. He is also a large shareholder of Elwood.io, a tech platform that enables institutions to access crypto markets.