Amber Group has raised $200 million in a fundraising round led by Singapores state-owned investment firm Temasek, boosting the valuation of the cryptocurrency financial services firm to $3 billion. It was valued at $1 billion about seven months ago.
Other investors include existing shareholders Sequoia China, Tiger Global Management, the venture capital arm of crypto exchange Coinbase, as well as Pantera Capital, a crypto hedge fund founded by a former Tiger Management executive, according to a company statement issued on Tuesday.
Amber Group achieved its unicorn status during its last fundraising round in June. The company said it will use the new capital to hire more staff to support its institutional business in Europe and the Americas. The capital will also be used for expanding coverage of its crypto investment platform globally.
“We want to help create a digital future where digital assets empower people with the opportunity and agency to shape a better world for all,” cofounder and CEO Michael Wu, a Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia alum from 2019, said in the statement. “We are proud to have the support of our investors who not only share this vision but also put their capital and trust in us to achieve it.”
Amber Group is said to be weighing an initial public offering in the U.S. next year, according to media reports. The company was established in 2017 by a group of quantitative traders from Morgan Stanley. It has recently moved its home office from Hong Kong to Singapore, which is seen by many to be more crypto-friendly due to the regulations the Southeast Asian nation rolled out in early 2020 that allows exchanges to apply for operating licenses.
Amber Group offers platforms for cryptocurrency trading and investments using digital assets. The startup said it has processed more than $1 trillion worth of crypto transactions cumulatively and manages over $5 billion in digital assets.
The crypto firm has operations in Asia, Europe and the Americas, and has received regulatory approvals from Australia, Switzerland and the U.K, according to its statement. It has recently ventured into Japan through its acquisition of DeCurret, a local crypto exchange licensed by the countrys financial regulators.