On Thursday, Succinct Labs, a startup dedicated to democratizing zero-knowledge proofs, unveiled that it had secured million in funding through both seed and Series A rounds. Paradigm took the lead in this financial boost, with additional support from entities like Robot Ventures, Bankless Ventures, Geometry, and ZK Validator, among others. Succinct Labs Nets M […]
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African Fintech M-Kopa Secures $200M in Debt Financing Plus $55M in Equity Funding
Kenya-headquartered African fintech M-Kopa is reported to have secured 0 million in debt financing and an additional million in equity funding. Financial services group Standard Bank Group led the debt financing round while the investment company Sumitomo Corporation led the equity round with an investment of .5 million.
Expanding M-Kopa’s Smartphone Service Business
M-Kopa, an African fintech startup focused on asset financing, has reportedly secured 0 million in debt financing and an additional million in equity funding. According to a Fintech Futures report, Standard Bank Group led the debt financing round which was also backed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The other participants in this round include British International Investment, Mirova Sunfunder, and Nithio as well as the funds that are managed by Lion’s Head Global Partners.
On the other hand, M-Kopa’s equity funding round was led by one of its existing backers Sumitomo Corporation which invested .5 million. Blue Haven Initiative, Lightrock, Broadscale Group, and Latitude were the other participants in the round.
According to the report, M-Kopa will use the latest funding to increase its offerings as well as to grow its smartphone services. The fintech startup’s co-founder and CEO Jesse Moore is quoted in the report stating that his company’s mission is to address and overcome the barriers that block access to digital financial services.
“We have already unlocked billion in cumulative credit to over three million customers, and are proud of the thousands of local jobs we’ve created during tough economic times. As we continue to scale we remain committed to building a sustainable business and closing economic and digital gender gaps,” Moore reportedly said.
Besides using the recently acquired capital to boost its business, M-Kopa will also seek to boost financial inclusion among women and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in East Africa, the report said.
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Ethereum Debuts On CME To $55M In Futures Open Interest
Ethereum price is trading at just below ,800 per token after following Bitcoin’s upward trajectory to new all-time highs. Part of the buzz and momentum was generated by the introduction of Ether Futures trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, also known as CME Group.
During the altcoin’s debut week, Futures open interest reached a grand total of million. Here’s how the second-ranked cryptocurrency’s first week trading on CME compares to Bitcoin’s, and what happened in the weeks to follow.
Ether Futures Debut On CME Group, Open Interest Rises To M In First Week
Unlike the launch of Bitcoin’s debut on CME Group’s Futures trading platform which was referred to as “tepid,” Ethereum’s introduction has already resulted in as much as million during the first few days trading.
Related Reading | Ethereum Beats Bitcoin Performance Two Years Straight, What’s Next?
CME Group added Ether Futures on February 8 to give institutional traders exposure to more crypto assets than just Bitcoin. Ethereum as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, was the next logical choice.
Ether open interest shot up to million in the first week trading | Source: Skew Analytics, via Arcane Research
Ethereum is also among the few crypto assets that has regulatory support thanks to its early distribution model ensuring sufficient decentralization.
Trading volume itself stayed relatively steady at around million, but open interest continued to climb as the debut week continued, according to the most recent report from Arcane Research.
The Similarities Between Ethereum And Bitcoin At CME Launch
First week trading volume and open interest results show a positive correlation with the greater crypto market trend. However, after rising the first few days during trading, Ether prices have since turned down from the recent record set.
This wouldn’t otherwise be alarming, however, when Bitcoin was first introduced on CME for Futures trading on December 17, 2017, it was the exact top of the bull market.
Already this time is different with Ether prices still rising beyond the initial debut, and the greater bull trend isn’t anywhere near as exhausted as it was in late 2017.
The introduction of BTC Futures on CME marked the peak. Is this time different? | Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com
By most measures, Bitcoin’s bull run is only just getting started, and with a strike price for Ether options contracts at ,000 and above, it doesn’t look like a top is in for Ethereum at this point either.
Related Reading | Altcoin Market Cap On The Verge Of Life-Changing Breakout
Can Ethereum do what even Bitcoin couldn’t and overcome the sudden introduction of more short-sellers in the market? Or will this mark a temporary top for crypto now just like it did the last time around?
Featured image from Deposit Photos, Charts from TradingView.com