Major Spanish crypto exchange Bit2Me has raised €14 million to grow its position in Spain and expand into Latin America.
The exchange announced the news on Thursday, saying that the $15.3 million round was led by Investcorp, a global manager of alternative investment products for private and institutional clients with more than $50 billion in assets under management.
Other participants included Telefónica Ventures, the arm of Spanish multinational telecommunications company Telefónica dedicated to investing in technology startups, Silicon Valley-based venture capital fund Stratminds VC, Cardano via Adaverse, and the YGG fund and its CEO Gabby Dizon.
“This round closes during a ‘crypto winter’, where investors are looking for stable, mature companies with a good market position,” per the press release.
The investment, said the company, will enable it to proceed to “the next phase of its mission” – the global adoption of crypto.
The plan is, it said, “to consolidate itself as the main exchange in Spain and accelerate its expansion throughout Latin America, thus increasing its client portfolio and positioning itself as a leading player in the Web3 sector at an international level.”
Leif Ferreira, co-founder and CEO of Bit2Me, said that,
“This financing will be a boost to get new clients, since with Investcorp we have an international partner with a lot of financial muscle and with Telefónica a channel to boost us in Latin America.”
He added that the exchange has been working for more than two years on improving the platform in regard to product quality, regulation, and client protection.
Pablo Casadío, investor and CFO of Bit2Me, also noted that Bit2Me will use the investment to enhance regulatory compliance and user security, as well as to “continue to bet on Spain as the physical and fiscal headquarters.”
The exchange recently won the 2022 Expansion of Compliance Award, and it holds the ISO/IEC 27001 Security Certification.
Bit2Me is registered with the Bank of Spain and owned by Inveready Venture Capital, the fund that is said to have the highest return in the Spanish market with €1 billion in assets under management.
The team continues to work on incorporating new strategic investors aligned with the company’s innovation philosophy, according to co-CEO Koh Onozawam, adding that “in the short and medium term, other international investors will join our projects.”
Herve Francois, Investcorp’s Blockchain Fund’s Partner, opined that Bit2Me is well-positioned to take advantage of the growth in the rapidly evolving market. Investcorp will support its management team through the dedicated institutional blockchain fund eLydian Lion, he added.
Meanwhile, back in July 2022, Bit2Me acquired Fluyez, a Peruvian cryptocurrency trading company, which has the endorsement of the Peruvian Fintech Association and has expanded to other countries in Latin America, including Mexico.
“The acquisition of Fluyez by the Spanish exchange is part of the growth strategy,” Bit2Me said at the time, adding that it “reinforces its commitment to the crypto ecosystem and the Latin American market, a region in which Bit2Me already has a presence through its offices in Brazil.”
Also, in September 2022, Bit2Me signed an agreement with Telefónica to enable crypto payments for the telecommunications company’s devices through the Tu.com platform.
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