Crypto Lending Still Popular as Matrixport Eyes $100M Raise

The biggest crypto lender in Asia- Matrixport, aims to raise funding of $100 million amidst the recent FTX turmoil. Is crypto lending still popular?

When the crypto bear market is at its extreme, and the global macroeconomic condition is no good, Matrixport, a crypto lending project, aims to raise $100 Million. The recent FTX contagion has put other lending protocols, such as Genesis, BlockFi, and Gemini earn, into trouble. The news about the new funding round when the crypto lending platforms are struggling has surprised everyone.

What is Matrixport?

Matrixport is a Singapore-based startup founded by Jihan Wu. Earlier, Jihan Wu also co-founded Bitmain, a company that designs integrated circuit chips for Bitcoin mining. He left Bitmain in 2019 to start Matrixport. According to a Bloomberg report, the crypto lending company handles $5 billion of monthly trading volume and has over $10 billion of assets under management.

Matrixport raised over $100 million in a Series C funding round in Aug. 2021 to achieve a valuation of over $1 billion. DST Global, C Ventures, and K3 Ventures led the Series C funding round, but other backers include IDG Capital and Dragonfly Capital.

The Firm is Expected to Raise Funds at a Higher Valuation this year.

Bloomberg reported that Matrixport has commitments of $50 million from investors at a valuation of $1.5 billion, which is higher than last year’s valuation. The firm is seeking an additional $50 valuation to finalize the deals.

Further, the company’s public relations head Ross Gan confirmed the investment by stating, “Matrixport routinely engages with key stakeholders as part of its normal course of business, including investors keen to participate and enable our vision as a digital assets financial services provider.”