In an official announcement on July 21, KuCoin, a Seychelles-based crypto exchange, stated that it secured a 10 million-dollar strategic investment from Susquehanna International Group (SIG). The funds will be used be upgrade the infrastructure of the platform, R&D, and introduce new products.
Besides enriching its product lineup, the funding will also aid KuCoin's employment and global expansion plans. Three hundred employment positions remain at KuCoin despite the current crypto winter. The two firms - KuCoin and Susquehanna, will collaborate to incubate, mentor, and develop networks for the crypto projects built on KuCoin-backed blockchain - KCC chain, and other projects.
KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu said, "Part of the funds will also be used to support the development and improvement of the KCS and KCC ecosystems with a focus on social aspects, DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation) infrastructure, and decentralised communities."
Lyu added, "KuCoin has been through a few crypto cycles, and we are committed to building no matter what." Lyu said he was delighted at the partnership and strongly believed that SIG’s support would help ‘solidify our leading role as a centralised exchange and facilitate our ecosystem expansion in the decentralised Web 3.0 world.’
The action comes after KuCoin received $150 million in a pre-Series B fundraising round from Jump Crypto in May.
KuCoin was launched in 2017 and has grown to have over 20 million users globally. It currently lists 700 cryptocurrencies and supports 1200 trade pairings. With a 180 percent rise since 2021, the exchange has seen $2 trillion in trading volume as of this year. Forbes listed KuCoin as one of the Best Crypto Exchanges in 2021. KuCoin was named the Best Crypto App for Enthusiasts in 2022 by The Ascent.
SIG is a multinational quantitative trading company established with an entrepreneurial spirit and a strict analytical decision-making process. With an emphasis on derivatives, it is one of the largest proprietary trading organisations in the world and a specialist in trading virtually all listed financial products and asset classes.
Shashank is the founder at yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash