New Zealand-based exchange Easy Crypto has closed a NZ$17 million (US$11.75 million) Series A funding round, in what may be the largest investment raised for a startup from the country.
Fast facts
- Led by venture capital fund Nuance Connected Capital, Easy Crypto told Forkast.News the funding round was oversubscribed by 50%, helped along by participation from local and international companies, and that a further investment of almost US$7 million has been indicated by fund managers for a Series A+ round.
- Easy Crypto has recorded over three quarters of a billion U.S. dollars in sales since it was established three years ago, and says that its numbers have grown by five times in the past 12 months.
- In an interview with Forkast.News, Andrew Butler, managing director of Easy Crypto Australia, said while going public is on the radar, the first goal for the money raised was to put it toward improving its products for its customers.
- Butler also described New Zealand’s crypto industry as a “burgeoning space” that is evolving at a similar pace to that of neighbouring Australia, adding: “New Zealand’s very into their renewable energy, and I think there’s potential there for Bitcoin or other proof-of-work type mining facilities.”
- There had been a hole left in the New Zealand crypto industry after market leader Cryptopia shut down in 2019 following a hack that resulted in losses of millions of dollars for users. Butler says Easy Crypto has been able to fill that gap in the market, giving New Zealanders a decent option for crypto trading again.