The Lightnet Group announced that it has secured a $50 million capital commitment from LDA Capital Ltd “to grow its infrastructure, operations, and expand its technological partner’s (Velo Labs Technology) blockchain technology.”
Lightnet will “have the option to increase the $50 million to a total commitment of up to $100 million over the next three years.” The funds will be “utilized to facilitate web 3.0 payment and blockchain ledger-based remittance services focused across Asia Pacific and globally around the world.”
Warren P. Baker III, Managing Partner, and Co-Founder at LDA Capital, said:
“Lightnet’s next generation financial infrastructure, along with Velo Labs’ disruptive technology, will be the future rails for dynamic and regulated markets providing financial mobility and inclusivity across Asia.”
This investment will “allow the Lightnet Group to boost growth in the payment and remittance space, expanding operating corridors and opportunities, obtaining licenses – enabling a transition of existing payment and remittance systems towards new technology and building the #1 CeDefi banking network in Asia through its licensed subsidiaries and its continuously growing number of partners.”
LDA’s capital commitment will also be “utilized to increase internal operations including hiring of employees from around the globe to support the expansion of Lightnet’s ecosystem.”
Lightnet also intends “to utilize part of the funds to develop Velo Lab’s existing technology and contribute to the growth of Velo anchors, remittance partners and liquidity providers, and assist the blockchain company with enhancements of its team by hiring key management officers and developers.”
Tridbodi Arunanondchai, Co-Founder & CEO of Lightnet, said:
“We’re thrilled with this partnership and are so glad that LDA Capital recognizes the value of the new generation remittance services. This investment will allow us to grow and expand our infrastructure, which partners can participate in and grow business solutions. Our unique architecture makes the solution accessible and attainable for anyone to adopt the service.”
The Lightnet Group is “a Singapore headquartered fintech group with several licensed subsidiaries around the globe dedicated to improving the lives of the unbanked and underbanked populations throughout Asia Pacific, through its revolutionary advancement in cross-border remittance infrastructure.”
Leveraging technology from Lightnet’s close partner Velo Labs, the project intends “to be the first, real-time blockchain settlement flow for remittance and payments between Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) and banking institutions under regulatory supervision and support.”
The group intends “to pilot programs that enable remittance backed by distributed ledger technology through multiple channels including the use of stable coins, bypassing the traditional SWIFT settlement process and thus reducing the need for high costs of pre-funding that currently dominates traditional cross-border payment flows.”
The goal of this project is “to demonstrate how the emerging blockchain technology offered by companies like Lightnet’s technology partner Velo Labs can be used in harmony with Lightnet’s existing infrastructure, to enhance and complement remittances in a regulated and secure environment.”
Additionally, with the assistance of Velo Labs technology, who are focused on building plug-and-play, blockchain-based remittance solutions, Lightnet will be able “to connect to a multitude of payment partners across the globe, making the remittance ecosystem and payment options more affordable and accessible to businesses and customers alike.”