XREX, a crypto-fiat fintech company driving financial inclusion via blockchain, closed its $17 million Pre-A round, which was oversubscribed by 200%. XREX will use the funding to expand its fiat currency portfolio, acquire additional licenses, and forge partnerships with more financial institutions and digital wallets.
Led by CDIB Capital Group (TWSE: 2883), the consortium of global investors includes publicly-listed companies, major banks, venture capital firms, and top fintech investors from the US, Canada, Germany, Estonia, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The strong participation by publicly-listed companies underscores XREX’s commitment to compliance with regulatory bodies.
Other investors in this Pre-A round also include SBI Investment (subsidiary of SBI Holdings, TYO: 8473), Global Founders Capital, ThreeD Capital (CSE: IDK), E.Sun Venture Capital (TWSE: 2884), Systex Corporation (TWSE: 6214), Metaplanet Holdings, AppWorks, Black Marble, New Economy Ventures, and Seraph Group. XREX closed its $7 million seed round in 2019. The investors in that round included AppWorks (lead), Skype’s late-cofounder Toivo Annus, Metaplanet Holdings, Black Marble, CDIB, WI Harper, BitoEx, and the Taiwan government’s National Development Fund.
“CDIB was an early investor in XREX,” said Ryan Kuo, Head of CDIB Capital Innovation Fund. “After witnessing the company’s fast revenue growth and their commitment to compliance, we were determined to double our investment and lead this strategic round.”
“Our mission is to foster global financial inclusion by leveraging blockchain,” said XREX CEO and cofounder Wayne Huang, an internationally-recognized cybersecurity expert. “Many of our team members are from or have lived in the markets where we serve. We keenly understand the struggles faced by many cross-border merchants who lack safe access to US dollar liquidity.”
By working with local regulators and financial institutions, XREX has pioneered tools such as BitCheck and MyXchange to help merchants and SMEs in emerging markets reduce forex loss, gain access to US dollars and seamlessly cross over from informal to formal economy.
Capitalizing on a successful series of new features including their mandatory User Public Profile as well as their Risk Level Detector features, XREX will roll out a user Reputation Index next year to bolster safety, transparency, and accountability while encouraging social networking.
In the last eight months, XREX successfully detected and prevented fraud rings from Russia and Nigeria from using the platform, attesting to XREX as one of the safest crypto-fiat currency platforms in the world.
“Helping entrepreneurs to succeed is a priority for us,” said Yoshitaka Kitao, Representative Director & Chairman of SBI Investment. “We believe XREX solutions open the door for underserved merchants to participate in global commerce on an even playing field.”
Jerry Horng, President of Black Marble Capital Management who serves on XREX’s board, said, “We were an early investor of XREX and we’re excited to continue our support in this round. XREX is uniquely positioned to connect Taiwan’s mature banking industry with the booming cross-border commerce currently seen in emerging markets.”
Recognizing compliance is core to digital currency adoption, XREX partners with several leading compliance and anti-money laundering providers such as CipherTrace, Sum&Substance, and TRISA.
“XREX has shown above-expectation growth since their graduation from our AW#17 accelerator batch in 2018. We are thrilled to back them again,” said Joseph Chan, a Partner at AppWorks who serves on XREX’s board. “This round will accelerate XREX’s capability of combining their unmatched cybersecurity expertise with leading compliance technologies to create a safer and cleaner ecosystem for crypto-enabled merchants, digital asset owners, and entrepreneurs.”
ABOUT XREX
Founded in Aug 2018 and headquartered in Taipei, XREX Inc. is a crypto-fiat fintech company with a mission of driving financial inclusion by solving the dollar liquidity shortage issue in emerging economies. Armed with a team of world-leading experts in compliance, cryptocurrency, blockchain, fintech, and cross-border payments, XREX offers innovative solutions to help cross-border SMEs compete on an even playing field. Follow XREX on Twitter, Facebook, Medium, and LinkedIn.
ABOUT THE COFOUNDERS
Chief Executive Officer
Wayne Huang is an internationally-recognized cybersecurity expert instrumental in developing innovative blockchain-based solutions currently used in several emerging markets. He founded Amorize Technologies in 2006, a leading developer of cloud-based (SaaS) anti-malware products which was later acquired by Proofpoint (NASDAQ: PFPT), where he served as the VP of Engineering for five years before founding XREX Inc. Huang is a highly sought after speaker and presenter at cybersecurity and blockchain-focused conferences around the world.
Chief Revenue Officer
Winston Hsiao is an economist, serial entrepreneur, active crypto trader, and angel investor in a number of start-ups in Asia. He founded Taiwan’s first Bitcoin exchange BTCEx-TW in 2013. He is also the founder and CEO of Verico International. After having grown up in India, Hsiao has an acute understanding of the challenges faced by SMEs and merchants in emerging markets. His role in XREX combines his passion for financial inclusion and his expertise in blockchain and cross-border payment. Winston divides his time between Taipei and India.
Media Contact and Interview Requests:
Yoyo Yu yoyoyu@xrex.io
