Babel Finance, a leading global crypto financial service provider has comepleted its strategic Series A fundraising of US$40 million. The round was led by Zoo Capital, Sequoia Capital China, Dragonfly Capital, BAI Capital and Bertelsmann, and Tiger Global Management, with follow-on participation from existing investors.
This round of strategic financing demonstrates that Babel Finance is highly sought after by top global venture capital and private equity investors, as well as family offices. These institutions span across diversified backgrounds and cover capital market resources in Asia, North America, and Europe. "The alliance with our new investors from traditional finance is a critical step for us to offer more innovative products, strengthen compliance controls, and ultimately provide a full suite of reliable services to meet the growing demand from mainstream investors who are keen to add crypto assets in their portfolio," said Flex Yang, CEO of Babel Finance.
Babel Finance's success in earning global investor recognition through this round of fundraising was largely due to its fast growth and resilient performance through market cycles since inception. As of February 2021, Babel Finance has served more than 500 institutional clients, and its crypto lending business has reached an outstanding balance of US$2 billion (in cryptocurrency). Combining financial innovation with prudent risk management, the company has emerged as one of the largest crypto derivative players with a monthly trading volume of US$8 billion.
"Babel Finance aims to become a global powerhouse at scale and bandwidth in the industry matching our counterpart DCG in the US. Continuing the momentum from last year, Babel's growth will be further fueled by financings, investments, M&As, and strategic partnerships with investors that are aligned with our vision," said Del Wang, Co-founder of Babel Finance.
This investment marks a debut in Asia's crypto finance industry for Zoo Capital, BAI Capital and Tiger Global Management. It also signals a growing confidence and recognition of the future development of the industry in the region.
"We are pleased to partner with Babel Finance, and this investment marks Zoo Capital's first initiative in the crypto industry. I believe our global network and experience will provide valuable support for Babel Finance to build a sophisticated gateway for the traditional market," said Bowen Wang, Head of Crypto at Zoo Capital, the only early-stage venture fund of Boyu Capital.
"BAI focuses on investing in leaders of emerging industries, and crypto finance is an important sector under our Fintech coverage. Babel Finance is clearly a winning bet for us as showcased by its strong market know-how, financial innovation, and risk management," said Annabelle Long, Founding and Managing Partner at BAI Capital. BAI Capital is the first VC investor of several Asian fintech unicorns, including Linklogis, Lexin and Yixin.
Looking ahead, Babel Finance is committed to servicing mainstream investors by offering crypto financial products under their respective compliance regimes. To better meet institutional requirements, the firm has devoted significant resources towards global compliance, including applying for relevant licenses in North America, Europe and Asia. All this effort is to spearhead best practices that support a crypto compliant environment. Collectively with global industry leaders, Babel Finance is proactively working with regulators in different jurisdictions to define best compliance practices.
"Leveraging resources from our new investors, we will continue to invest heavily in compliance, technology infrastructure and talent acquisition, including channel partnerships and selected M&As. With increasing institutional participation, Babel Finance is well-positioned to bridge Eastern and Western crypto markets by providing best-in-class crypto financial services," said Yulong Liu, Partner, and Head of Global Partnerships of Babel Finance.
"Babel Finance has an ambitious goal of building a robust financial infrastructure for the crypto industry, which goes in tandem with the evolving trend towards the institutionalization of this industry. We are confident in their potential to become an international leader," said Bo Feng, Managing Partner at Dragonfly Capital.
Founded in 2018, Babel Finance is one of the world's largest crypto financial service providers, offering crypto lending, asset management and prime financing to institutions and qualified investors worldwide.
