The last year has seen Diginex leap various regulatory hurdles to become the first firm to pass the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission’s framework for crypto funds in November.
Blockchain services firm Diginex is closer to listing on Nasdaq after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved its bid to merge with publicly traded 8i Enterprises Acquisition Corp. on Friday.
The $276 million deal will now be put before 8i’s shareholders for approval at a March 20 special meeting, according to a press release.
If accepted, the merger will allow Diginex, a private company based in Hong Kong, to bypass many of the usual regulatory barriers associated with launching an initial public offering and be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market in what’s known as a backdoor listing.
The two firms have been working toward a merger since last July. Diginex shareholders would receive 20 million ordinary shares in 8i, valued at $10 each, according to a previous report.
Diginex develops tools for institutions with a focus on digital assets, as well as a trading and custody platform. 8i is a British Virgin Islands-based blank check company.
Digital bank N26 raises $100 million in Series D funding
N26, a digital bank backed by Peter Thiel, has completed its series D funding by raising $100 to bring total funds raised in the round to $570 million.
Digital bank, N26 has added $100 million to its Series D funding that was announced in 2019. The latest investment received backing from Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures and China’s Tencent.
According to CNBC, the investment now brings N26’s Series D funding totals to $570 million for this round alone. The crypto-friendly online banking platform has so far raised $770 million to date. German-based N26 remains valued at $3.5 billion.
N26 co-founder and CEO Valentin Stalf termed the fundraiser a success given prevailing economic times exacerbated by COVID-19 related volatility in the markets.
The startup is looking to continue its expansion as it seeks to keep the tag of one of Europe’s top digital banking providers.
Stalf pointed to a surge in ‘bank from home’ activity as people stay at home due to government advice on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic. In an interview with the broadcaster, the N26 CEO confirmed that although the company’s ATMs are seeing reduced activity, the opposite holds for e-commerce payments that have surged in recent weeks.
The bank’s strategy, according to Stalf, is to use the extra capital to focus “on the next two to three years and how we get through the crisis.”
But the current health and economic crisis have not spared N26, with the company’s growth in users checked in March. The company has over 5 million registered users, but growth was slow in the months following widespread lockdowns across Europe.
N26 launched its services in the U.K in late 2018 but exited just 18 months later following Brexit. The company cited a lack of necessary licenses as its reason to cease operations in the U.K.
While plans remain for reentry into the British market, N26 has set its eyes on Latin America- specifically Brazil.
N26 is one of the many fintech startups offering online-only banking in Europe, with many cryptocurrency traders looking at them as crypto-friendly entities.
As such, the company alongside its competitors has attracted millions of users. One example is Revolut, which lets users exchange various currencies into 5 of the major cryptocurrencies. Users can access instant exchanges of any of the currencies on offer into Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), and XRP.
Revolut secured $500 million in funding this past February, at a valuation of $5.5 billion.
