New Zealand Cryptocurrency Exchange Easy Crypto Raises $12M

Easy Crypto closed a $12 million Series A funding round, the New Zealand-based cryptocurrency exchange announced in a press release on Wednesday.

• Nuance Connected Capital led the round with investments from pension provider Pathfinder and Indonesia-based GDP Venture. U.S.-based Even Capital, Hutt Capital, Icehouse Ventures and Seven Peaks Ventures also participated.
• The exchange, which said the round was oversubscribed by 50%, will use the capital to expand globally into new markets.
• In the release, Easy Crypto highlighted its intent to expand its business in Southeast Asia. Easy Crypto already has a presence in Australia, the Philippines and South Africa, along with New Zealand.
• Easy Crypto’s platform allows users to buy and sell more than 150 cryptocurrencies. The three-year-old firm, which was founded by siblings Janine and Alan Grainger, has seen its number of users grow fivefold over the past year.
• “This funding will accelerate our global growth trajectory, making cryptocurrency easily accessible to even more customers across the world,” Janine Grainger, who serves as the company’s CEO, wrote to CoinDesk. “It is a clear endorsement of what the Easy Crypto team has achieved to date and the growth potential of the platform.”