The operator of South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has secured $200 million in funding from Japan’s ST Blockchain Fund.
According to an April 15 Cointelegraph report, the Blockchain Exchange Alliance (BXA) plans to utilize the new funds for the exchange’s global expansion.
“The fund shared our vision of creating a global digital exchange platform that can efficiently transfer value across borders with lower costs, which was the key rationale behind this investment decision,” the parent company of Bithumb stated.
A crucial time to boost business
Bithumb is the largest digital asset exchange operating in South Korea. However, the exchange could not safeguard itself from the wrath of the market as it recently reported a loss of $180 million for 2018. The figures shocked the industry as the platform recorded a profit of $375 million in the previous year.
Earlier this year, FortuneZ reported on the reverse merger of BXA, previously known as BTHMB, with United States-listed Blockchain Industry. That opened a backdoor for the Singapore-based holding company to publically list itself on the US market without facing the strict path of an initial public offering (IPO).
Prior to this funding, Bithumb was already eying to expand its international presence and launched an over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk in February for institutional clients. Last year, the South Korean exchange opened an office in London and marked its presence in the middle east by opening a branch in the UAE.
However, the exchange also faced a few setbacks as earlier this month; it reported an attack on the platform which was estimated to have involved around $19 million. This raised many questions on the exchange’s security as only a few months ago, $30 million worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen from the exchange.
The exchange recently addressed the security lapses and publicized the results of a third-party audit which assured the security of its clients’ funds.
