Bitcoin Banking App Mode Eyes £40M UK Listing

A new app that allows users to buy bitcoin, as well as earn interest on holdings, is reportedly looking at going public in the U.K.

• The Daily Telegraph reported Sunday that Mode Banking is expected to announce plans for a £40 million stock market listing sometime in the next month.
• The firm, which was officially incorporated as Mode Global Holdings PLC in August, is also looking to raise £7.5 million ($9.87 million) from investors ahead of the flotation, according to the report.
• CoinDesk understands that Mode has already raised £4 million ($5.26 million) and is hoping to list on the London Stock Exchange.
• An announcement of the final venue may be on the cards in as little as a month.
• Mode's founder is Jonathan Rowland, who founded online investment company Jellyworks at the height of the dot-com boom in 2000.
• Jellyworks' value soared to over £300 million on its first day of trading on the London Stock Exchange, but had fallen back down to roughly $67 million at the time it was acquired by Shore Capital.
• In August, Mode announced it had hired former Alipay exec Rita Liu to lead company strategy and commercial partnerships.
• Customer assets are held with custodial provider BitGo, which has insurance coverage "for up to $100 million" through Lloyds of London.

See also: NYSE Can Allow Firms to Raise Funding Through Direct Listings, Says SEC

UPDATE (Sept. 7, 13:50 UTC): This article has been updated to clarify that Mode Banking uses custodial provider BitGo to hold customer assets.