Singapore crypto copy-trade platform raises $3m ahead of launch

SINGAPORE - Singapore-based cryptocurrency copy trading platform Alpha Impact has raised $ 3.1 million in a funding round led by LuneX Ventures, Genesis Block Ventures, Solidity Ventures, SMO Capital and an undisclosed high-frequency trading company, Co-Founder Hayden Hughes said DealStreetAsia.

Other investors in the round were Axia8 Ventures, the Krypital Group, Spark Capital and Angel investors.

Alpha Impact raised the $ 3.1 million through a private sale of its tokens, which will be listed on the Uniswap crypto exchange in May. The investors - who have a six-month vesting period - bought 15% of the company's tokens and valued Alpha Impact at around $ 20 million, Hughes said.

He added that, unlike an initial coin offering where token sales are aimed at retail investors, this fundraising round was only conducted among accredited investors and venture capital firms.

The new funds will be used to hire more people, especially developers. Alpha currently has six employees, but plans to increase the number to 20 by the end of the year.

The startup was founded in September 2020 and recently emerged from the start-up generator program of the venture capital company Antler in January. To date, the company has received $ 100,000 from Antler and has earned income by advising family offices on crypto investments.

Hughes said that blockchain and cryptocurrency-focused investors like Genesis Block Ventures, based in Hong Kong and LuneX Ventures, based in Singapore, are helping to add credibility to the company and build trust with customers.

LuneX Ventures was spun off from Golden Gate Ventures in 2018 as one of the earliest cryptocurrency and blockchain funds in Southeast Asia. Genesis Block Ventures has invested in around 100 startups since it was founded in October.

Alpha Impact, which will start selling its tokens on Uniswap in May, will also launch its copy trading platform early in the third quarter, Hughes said. A copy trading platform enables users to mimic the trades of experienced traders. Alpha Impact users can choose the trader they want to follow based on their risk appetite.

"There is a lot of noise . It is very difficult and very confusing for new investors to understand space and separate fact from fiction, "said Hughes." The idea for us is to give everyone access to different investment strategies. "

So far, 15 traders have agreed to allow users to copy their trades, including Hughes and his co-founder Austin Chaird. These traders, which include those who work for high frequency trading companies, are shown anonymously to users but are first verified by Alpha Impact, which plans to expand its network to 100 traders by the end of the year.

Alpha Impact charges users a 1% fee for every transaction shared with merchants. The traders also have a social media profile on the platform through which they can share details about their trading strategies.

In order to use Alpha Impact's platform, users must first open an account with an exchange such as Binance. Alpha Impact links user accounts with traders but cannot access user funds.

"We are given limited permission to trade from your switch account We don't sell crypto, "explained Hughes." Nobody stores crypto with us, so this is a non-custodial way for customers to get access to crypto investments. "

Around 1,200 people signed up as test users before the web-based platform launched, said Hughes, who hopes to have 5,000 users by the end of the year.

Although there are already quite a few copy trading platforms out there like eToro and Zignaly, Genesis Block Ventures' partner and co-founder Leslie Tam are confident that Alpha Impact can run their platform smoothly as Hughes and Chaird are well versed in crypto Market and are working to ensure that there are "no teething problems on the product side".

"There is a lot of new UX to be created social trade needs We thought they were professional, "said Tam.

He added that raising funds through tokens will benefit both the startup and the investor. "We usually only invest through tokens we can act it. We don't have to be forced to act anywhere, we can act wherever we want we can hold it Use the tokens as a bet, "he said.

Crypto startups trying to raise money can sell their tokens on exchanges instead of spending time with venture capital companies. And the market decides the value of the company through the tokens. "It's beautiful because it's so self-regulating," said Tam.

Hughes was previously sales director at blockchain technology investment bank Techemy and institutional sales director at Crypto.com. The chairman was previously Vice President at JP Morgan and managed technical operations.

Interest in the crypto market has increased lately.

Other companies that have recently raised donations include India-based cryptocurrency exchange aggregator CoinSwitch Kuber, which raised $ 25 million from Tiger Global Management, and Enjin, a Singapore-based blockchain ecosystem builder who is involved in one of Crypto.com-led funding round has raised $ 18.9 million. DFG Group and Hashed.

According to a report from OpenNodes, Temasek, IBM, PwC Singapore, EY and SGTech, the number of blockchain companies in Singapore increased 50% year over year to 234 in 2020.

Singapore has also made an effort to regulate the industry. Last year, the Payment Services Act was introduced, requiring companies to acquire a license to provide payment services, including token services for digital payments.

Click here to read the original DealStreetAsia story.

DealStreetAsia is a Singapore-based financial news site focused on private equity, venture capital and corporate investments in Asia, particularly Southeast Asia, India and Greater China. Nikkei owns a majority stake in the company.

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