INVESTING

Toronto-based digital asset platform Ledn raises $30 million in Series A financing.

Digital asset platform Ledn Inc. has secured $30 million in Series A financing that the Toronto-based company aims to use to expand its workforce and grow its presence in the global financial services market.

The round was led by London-based investment firm Kingsway Capital and saw a group of new investors coming to the table, including hedge fund manager Alan Howard, Seoul-based blockchain team Hashed Investments, Susquehanna trading firm, ParaFi Capital, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and John Pfeffer. The funding was further supported by returning investors including White Star Capital's Digital Asset Fund, Coinbase Ventures, Global Founders Capital and CMT Digital.

Ledn operates a multinational digital asset savings and Bitcoin-backed loan platform to clients looking to manage their digital assets.

Ledn co-founder and chief executive officer Adam Reeds told the Financial Post that the will mean broadening a team of 40 people to between 80 and 100 by the end of the year, as well as entering new markets.

“We have a big presence in Latin America, but we want to get more into Europe as well,” Reeds said in an interview. “We're in 105 countries right now, but we want to be deeper into those markets.”

The announcement comes at a time when cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have plunged from the month's highs of over $71,000 to Monday's closing price just shy of $47,000 over the course of May.

The volatility was fuelled in part by Tesla Inc.'s reversal of a decision to accept Bitcoin as well as the Chinese government cracking down on the cryptocurrency. Reeds said that despite these challenges, crypto assets such as Bitcoin still investors exposure to an alternative asset with potential upside.

Despite the market volatility, there has been a push in Canada to offer more crypto investment options in 2021. Canada became the first country to approve a cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund with the pioneering Purpose Bitcoin ETF in February. In April, three ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from Purpose Investments, CI Global Asset Management and Evolve ETFs debuted on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Reeds said that the growing adoption rate is a byproduct of the growth in interest in cryptocurrencies and the companies that offer

PEOPLE ARE

EXCITED TO WORK IN A BITCOIN COMPANY.

them as investment vehicles. The intrigue has captured both investors and financial professionals alike, bringing a new pool of talent that Reeds hopes to capture in this new financing round.

“We're finding a lot of people wanting to jump into this industry…. Two years ago, it would be tricky to pull people out of banks and other traditional financial institutions and say, `Hey, do you want to come work at a Bitcoin company?'” Reeds said. “Now, people are excited to work in a Bitcoin company because they see it as a potential to improve banking services. So, I think it's really changed.”