KuCoin Crypto Exchange Raises $150 Million in Funding, Plans to Launch Crypto Wallet, NFT Site

KuCoin crypto exchange is shifting focus on launching more products based on Decentralised Finance (DeFi) as part of its 2022 plans. The Seychelles-based company has raised fresh capital of $150 million (roughly Rs. 1,158 crore) in a pre-Series B funding round. Using the money, KuCoin is looking to expand beyond centralised trading services and concentrate on giving its platform a more advanced Web3 twist. With this new funding, the valuation of KuCoin has reached $10 billion (roughly Rs. 77,264 crore).

The platform is set to foray into newer avenues such as crypto wallets, GameFi, and NFT platforms.

“The new influx of capital will allow KuCoin to go beyond centralized trading services and expand its presence in Web3 through investment arms like KuCoin Labs and KuCoin Ventures. KCC, the public chain built by KuCoin's community members, will also be a significant infrastructure where resources will be deployed to create a decentralized ecosystem,” the company, launched in 2017 said in a statement.

At a time when crypto exchange giants like Coinbase are reporting revenue losses and the overall crypto market cap is also dipping to a significant low, KuCoin is expecting a tenfold improvement in its overall performance.

For this, the platform is betting on developing the “next generation of KuCoin core trading system”.

The platform is also keeping security upgrades to its networks in focus, in order to ensure the safety of its users and the crypto assets being traded on its platform.

A bunch of venture capital firms like Circle Ventures and Jump Crypto have pumped-in the recent capital influx for KuCoin, reinstating trust in the crypto exchange business.

“The vote of confidence from prominent investors, including Jump Crypto and Circle Ventures, solidifies our vision that one day everyone will be with crypto,” said Johnny Lyu, CEO of KuCoin, commenting on the development.

KuCoin, that secured $20 million in Round A funding back in November 2018, is listed as the fifth largest crypto exchange on the market as per CoinMarketCap.

The firm has tried to engage more with the Web3 space in recent months.

KuCoin ‘merged' reality with virtual reality (VR) to introduce its new metaverse office in a stunning virtual reality-based building called ‘Bloktopia' in November last year.

The platform claims to offer 700 digital assets for exchange to its userbase of over 18 million.