KuCoin Raises $150M in Round Led by Jump Crypto at $10B Valuation

Crypto exchange KuCoin has raised $150 million in pre-Series B funding at a valuation of $10 billion, the company confirmed to CoinDesk on Tuesday.

The round, which was led by Jump Crypto, also saw participation from Circle Ventures, IDG Capital and Matrix Partners.

“We are pleased to support the company as it continues to grow and expand its offerings in futures and margin trading, lending, staking and passive yield generation to support the growth of Web 3.0 and the crypto markets,” Tak Fujishima, head of Asia at Jump Crypto, said in a statement.

KuCoin will use the funds to expand its product offerings, going beyond its current centralized trading services and increasing its presence in the broader Web 3 market, by building out crypto wallets, as well as decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) platforms, through its investment arms like KuCoin Labs and KuCoin Ventures.

“As the Web 3 industry is growing quickly, we are seeing a massive need for new solutions and talents,” CEO Johnny Lyu said in a Telegram message. “KuCoin is glad to contribute financial, technological and human resources to accelerate the research and adoption of Web 3.0 technologies.”

Some of the funds will go toward the development of infrastructure and applications on KCC, the public chain built by KuCoin's community members.

KuCoin is the fifth-largest crypto exchange in the world by trading volume, according to CoinMarketCap data. It secured $20 million in Series A funding in November 2018.