Celsius Network, the international digital currency earning and borrowing platform, reveals that it has finalized a $400 million investment that was led by WestCap, a growth equity company, as well as Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a global investment group. The transaction will “reflect a valuation of more than US $3 billion for Celsius,” the update confirmed.
Celsius aims to use the funds from this investment to further expand its product offering, while creating bridges between traditional finance and virtual currencies, with emphasis on introducing institutional grade products and offerings.
Part of the proceeds would also be used to “double its team from 486 employees to nearly 1,000 and expand globally through strategic acquisitions in order to continue fueling the exponential growth that it has experienced over the past year.”
Celsius has reported that as of October 8, 2021, total assets surpassed the $25 billion mark – including over 1 million clients registered with the platform – having paid out over $850 million in interest to users via its Earn product in a little over 3 years.
“We are pleased by the response we received from many leading financial investors during this fundraise. The partnership with WestCap and CDPQ puts Celsius in a position to grow and further its mission to leverage blockchain technology to connect and decentralize the traditional finance,” stated Alex Mashinsky, CEO of Celsius Network.
“WestCap and CDPQ believe Celsius is a world-class business in size and scope, and will continue to be the leader at the forefront of the industry in regard to innovation and regulatory acceptance,” added Laurence A. Tosi, Founder and Managing Partner at WestCap.
Tosi added:
“While the current regulatory attention is new, Alex Mashinsky and Celsius’ ethos has long echoed the sentiment regulators are trying to put forth in terms of consumer protections. Celsius is committed to working constructively with regulators to better understand the dynamic crypto space, protect retail customers from fraud and undue risk, and create general consumer knowledge to allow for thoughtful investment decisions.”
Alexandre Synnett, Executive VP and CTO at CDPQ, said:
“Blockchain technology has the potential to disrupt several sectors of the traditional economy. As digital assets grow in adoption, we intend to capture the right opportunities, while working with our partners towards a regulated industry.”
Synnett also mentioned that Celsius is the leading cryptocurrency lender with a solid management team that “puts transparency and customer protection at the core of their operations.” He added that CDPQ and WestCap are “eager to partner with them to share our expertise in the FinTech sector as they continue to expand their services.”
As previously reported, Celsius assists consumers across the globe with finding the appropriate path towards financial independence via “a compounding yield service and instant low-cost loans accessible via a web and mobile app.”
Built on the vision that financial services should “only do what is in the best interest of the customers and community,” Celsius is a blockchain-powered fee-free platform where membership provides access “to curated financial services that are not available through traditional financial institutions.”