Bitso, a Mexico-based cryptocurrency exchange operator backed by corporates Coinbase, Monex and Ripple, has received $250m in series C funding at a $2.2bn valuation, Forbes reported yesterday.
Hedge fund manager Tiger Global Management and investment manager Coatue Management co-led the round, which included Paradigm, Bond, Valor Capital Group, QED Investors, Pantera Capital and Kaszek Ventures.
Founded in 2014, Bitso operates an online trading platform that lets users buy, sell and transfer Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It also runs a crypto trading platform for professional investors called Bitso Alpha.
The company’s founder and CEO, Daniel Vogel, told Forbes the funding will be used to expand its operations while also maintaining its services for local customers in Latin America.
QED Investors and Kaszek Ventures co-led Bitso’s $62m series B round in December 2020, participating alongside digital currency exchange Coinbase’s strategic investment arm, Coinbase Ventures and Pantera Capital.
The company had prevoiusly raised $2.5m in a 2016 seed round featuring financial exchange operator Monex Group, Digital Currency Group (DCG), Variv Capital, Xochi Ventures, FundersClub, Bitcoin Capital and Blockchain Tech.
Blockchain-based financial transfer service Ripple had led a funding round of undisclosed size for Bitso in late 2019 that included Coinbase, DCG, Pantera Capital and Jump Capital.