Toronto-based Ledn, which offers financial services to cryptocurrency holders, has raised $36.1 million CAD ($30 million USD) in Series A funding.
The round was led by London, UK-based hedge fund Kingsway Capital, with participation from new investors such as crypto venture fund Hashed, Susquehanna Private Equity Investments, and ParaFi Capital.
The round represents a sizable investment for a Canadian crypto startup and comes amid a flurry of activity in the sector.
All investors from Ledn’s prior round also participated in this investment, including Coinbase Ventures, Global Founders Capital, and CMT Digital. White Star Capital’s Digital Asset Fund, which recently closed $50 million USD, also re-invested in the round. Several notable angels also participated, including Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit; billionaire hedge fund manager Alan Howard; and John Pfeffer, co-founder of Pfeffer Capital.
The Series A round represents a sizable investment for a Canadian cryptocurrency startup and comes amid a flurry of activity in the cryptocurrency sector. In Canada, startups have been moving quickly to launch cryptocurrency offerings, including well-known FinTech companies such as Mogo, Nuvei, and Wealthsimple.
At the same time, Canadian regulators are also working to bring crypto startups into compliance with the law. Regulators across Canada have been working over the last few years to determine how exactly to regulate cryptocurrencies. In the process, these regulators have come down on trading platforms, including several notable Canadian tech companies operating in this space.
Ledn offers savings accounts for Bitcoin and US Dollar Coin (USDC, a stablecoin backed by Coinbase and pegged to the US dollar). The startup also offers Bitcoin-backed loans, through which customers can put up their Bitcoin, receive fiat currency in exchange, and get back the Bitcoin once the loan is repaid.
The startup was founded in 2018 and is led by CEO Adam Reeds. Ledn claims to have seen significant growth since its $3.4 million seed round, which closed at the beginning of this year.
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Ledn claimed that since January, assets on its platform have grown by over 320 percent to more than $1 billion, and it now serves clients in 105 countries. The startup has also managed to triple the size of its team since the beginning of 2021 to 40 people, with plans to reach 100 by the end of this year. Ledn also claims that since the beginning of 2021, it has grown the collective value of its loans by over 800 percent and the collective value of its savings products by 280 percent.
“With this new injection of capital, we will expand on our success in North and South America and grow our global footprint, prioritizing growth markets,” said Reeds. “Our focus is to build simple and secure solutions that allow clients to participate in the growing digital asset economy in a way that meets their individual needs and our own rigorous standard for security and reliability.”
Ledn also recently launched Ledn Trade, a service that enables clients to exchange between USDC and Bitcoin. This new product, available in select markets, is specifically catered to clients looking to quickly move between the two digital assets.
Ledn co-founder and chief strategy officer Mauricio Di Bartolomeo told BetaKit the startup is prioritizing the growth of its newly-launched trading feature as well as its on-ramps service. A cryptocurrency on-ramp refers to an exchange or similar service that can offer fiat money in return for cryptocurrency.
The proceeds of the round will also be used to grow Ledn’s team as well as its global presence. Ledn said its investors bring “regional-specific expertise” that will help Ledn to achieve its growth goals.
Image courtesy of Ledn.
