Kucoin Scores Funding And Partnership From Wall Street Trading Giant

Crypto exchange Kucoin said on Thursday that it had secured $10 million from Susquehanna International Group, one of Wall Street’s largest trading firms cofounded by U.S. billionaire Jeff Yass.

The investment marks an extension of Kucoin’s $150 million fundraising round announced in May that was led by Jump Crypto, a backer of the troubled Terra blockchain. Kucoin claimed the investment from Susquehanna was at the same $10 billion valuation the company reported in May, which is particularly noteworthy as some other crypto firms have seen their valuations cut in recent funding rounds.

The additional proceeds will be used to upgrade Kucoin’s trading platform, enhance product offerings and expand its business globally, the company said in a statement. Kucoin’s plan includes using some of the capital to add 300 new staff to its current team of 1,000. It will also team up with Susquehanna to launch an incubation program to support other crypto startups, particularly those with projects built on Kucoin’s blockchain.

“The new influx of capital will allow KuCoin to go beyond centralized trading services and expand its presence in Web3,” Johnny Lyu, cofounder and CEO of Kucoin, said in an email. “This funding will also help us successfully navigate the downturn in the industry, even as we are well-positioned for a prolonged bear market.”

The recent crypto crash started with Terra’s $60 billion collapse has since then triggered a credit crisis similar to the catastrophe that blew up the traditional financial industry in 2008. Zipmex on Thursday became the latest crypto firms to temporarily suspend withdrawals due to “resulting financial difficulties” of its key business partners. The move followed the insolvency of Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, which has taken a hefty toll on its creditors, including Celsius Network and Voyager Digital.

Seychelles-based Kucoin had previously refuted rumors that it was planning to halt withdrawals, and clarified that the company had no exposure to Three Arrows Capital or the collapsed crypto token that ran the Terra blockchain. Meanwhile, the exchange says its business is still growing. Just last week, Kucoin announced that the number of users on its platform has surpassed 20 million across 207 countries and regions, while trading volume exceeded $2 trillion in the first six months despite the market downturn.

“Given that our long-term strategy implies negative market scenarios, the current market situation is not stressful for us,” Lyu said. “The crypto winter is not the only scenario for which we are pretty ready.” The CEO expected a market recovery no earlier than 2023, citing a list of factors including global geopolitics and monetary policies that help stem inflation.

Founded in Singapore five years ago, Kucoin has expanded its services to cover crypto lending and NFT trading, as well as an investment vehicle that focuses on crypto and blockchain firms. Kucoin has grown to become the top 10 largest crypto exchange with $1.3 billion in spot trades over a 24-hour period as of Thursday, according to tracker CoinGecko.