Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges in terms of trade volume, has invested in Chinese crypto media and data sourcing company Mars Finance, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Although the amount of the involved capital is not disclosed, this strategic investment has reportedly valued the firm at $200 million, making it one of the largest cryptocurrency media and data platform on the globe.
Apart from Binance, the Chinese company also received funds from Ceyuan Ventures and Matrixport, the financial startup setup by Bitmain’s co-founder Wu Jihan, in the recent financing round.
Though operating in almost every nation on the globe, Binance cannot offer its services to Chinese investors. Similar to every digital currency exchange in China, Binance was put out of business in the country in late 2017 due to the ban on crypto exchanges by the Chinese government.
According to the report, this is the first investment of the Malta-registered crypto exchange in a Chinese crypto-related company.
A hunger for information on crypto in the region
Founded in 2018 by local entrepreneur Wang Feng, the company was able to turn a nascent local crypto-focused media outlet into a behemoth thanks to the high demand in the region. It also received funds in two earlier rounds from IDG Capital, along with the venture arms of OKEx and Huobi, Bloomberg detailed.
The company also runs its own venture fund – Consensus Lab – and invested in over 50 startups.
Meanwhile, Binance is focused on being the largest crypto exchange worldwide and is entering into every possible sector related to crypto. Started as a crypto-to-crypto spot trading exchange, the company is now expanding into margin and futures trading as well.
The exchange also aims to launch its dedicated crypto-fiat trading platform in the US in collaboration with a local partner, after shutting down access to its main site in the country.
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