AscendEX Raises $50 Million in Series B Funding


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AscendEX Raises $50 Million in Series B Funding

Singapore-based crypto trading platform, AscendEX, has announced that it has raised $50 million in a Series B funding round. The Series B funding round which was led by Polychain Capital, Hack VC, and backed by Alameda Research has pushed AscendEX’s valuation to $455 million.

Other investors in AscendEx’s Series B round include Uncorrelated Ventures, Nothing Research, Palm Drive Capital, Eterna Capital, and Acheron Trading.

Olaf Carlson-Wee, Founder & CEO at Polychain Capital, speaking after the round stated that “AscendEX is a leader in transitioning crypto projects from primary to secondary markets, as seen through the continued success of the tokens listed on the exchange.”

Carlson-Wee added that the company is looking forward to deepening its partnership with AscendEX by providing insights into evolving industry trends and providing guidance on top-tier projects to list on the exchange.

AcsendEX was launched in 2018 as BitMax but was rebranded in March this year. The company’s services include cryptocurrency futures and spot trading, custody, and staking services for both retail and institutional clients.

AscendEX Earn, one of the company’s services, as described on their website, is a central hub for staking and yield farming, as well as for products based on the exchange’s native token ASD.

The product “empowers consumers to extract the greatest value from their crypto holdings” by locking up certain tokens and contributing them to projects where the funds are used for various protocol activities that create returns.

The Singapore-based company has also made some name in the initial exchange offerings space (IEO) and is known for projects like Serum, the Solana-based DeFi platform, offline mapping application Maps.me, and decentralized cloud computing marketplace Akash Network among the projects that opted for the platform’s launchpad.

AscendEX’s global user base has now surpassed one million with the company planning to use its latest capital to speed up its entry into the international market, targeting Europe, Asia, and Latin America. With its new funding, AscendEX also plans to expand its internal management team.

Shane Molidor, global head of business development at AscendEX revealed that the company also has its focus on the expansion and development of decentralized finance (DeFi) products, specifically focused on yield generating protocols.

Building a bridge to the DeFi ecosystem has allowed AscendEX to differentiate itself from other cryptocurrency exchanges and has made the platform a popular destination for innovative DeFi projects,” Molidor stated.

George Cao, CEO, and co-founder of AscendEX highlighted the importance of backing from household names such as Polychain Capital, the San Francisco-based investment firm founded by former Coinbase employee Olaf-Carson Wee, and Alameda Research, which was founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire CEO of crypto exchange FTX.

Cao described Polychain and Alameda as “the most prolific investors in the industry” and active catalysts of the DeFi ecosystem.

AscendEX Raises $50 Million in Series B Funding

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