Toronto-based VirgoCX’s parent company, Virgo Group, announced this week that it has raised $10 million CAD in an all-equity Series A round. On the same day, VirgoCX said it has been registered as a restricted dealer for crypto assets by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA).
The financing, which was led by Draper Dragon, also saw participation from Blockdream Ventures, Cobo Ventures, Molecular Group, Sora Ventures, and How Link Investment.
A spokesperson for VirgoCX told BetaKit that the $10 million investment will be used for the growth of all Virgo Group companies, including VirgoCX.
Founded in 2018, VirgoCX is a cryptocurrency trading platform that supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and more. It received its registered dealer approval from CSA on Monday, joining a small number of other regulated crypto platforms such as Bitbuy (acquired by WonderFi), Wealthsimple, Coinberry, Netcoins.
The CSA approval follows VirgoCX having received exempt relief to offer crypto products to investors from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) as of May 30.
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Backed by fresh funds and regulatory exemptions, VirgoCX said it intends to accelerate its global expansion and work towards more innovative products. In terms of its international market inroads, the startup said it plans to tap into Australia and the United Kingdom this year.
Virgo Group said it aims to launch an NFT Web3 Liquidity Aggregator to help users instantly complete the sale of their NFTs at competitive prices. Virgo Group said it also plans to introduce more innovative services, such as staking and DeFi yield farming.
“Virgo Group of companies has gathered a very effective global team of nearly 100 people through steady growth in the past few years,” said Adam Cai, CEO of VirgoCX. “We have a unique business model and a highly motivated team. I believe the Virgo Group will have exponential growth in the next 1-2 years.”
Cai told cryptocurrency news site CoinDesk that VirgoCX worked diligently to secure the proper licenses to operate in Canada. He told the publication that international expansion is a natural progression after garnering Canadian approvals, arguing that VirgoCX has all the necessary infrastructure set up. It’s a similar approach to that of WonderFi, which is working towards international markets after purchasing BitBuy.