Cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network has raised $400m, which puts the total valuation of the company at over $3 billion.
The new equity funding round is led by WestCap, the fund set up by former Airbnb and Blackstone executive Laurence Tosi, and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Canada’s second largest pension fund.
Celsius, founded in 2017, offers its customers interest of as much as 17 per cent on deposits of cryptocurrencies. The company pays the interest in crypto, including in its own token. It has become a major force in the fintech / crypto world in a relatively short time – from 2017 until today, they have reached over a million users and the value of the funds entrusted to them by users exceeds 25 billion dollars.
The news comes as the United States regulators, especially the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), have been increasingly cracking down on cryptocurrency lending in the country. However, it seems that the pressure from regulators did not affect Celsius’ growth.
Earlier this year, Celsius Network opened a development center in Serbia by acquiring part of Belgrade startup MVP Workshop, with whom they have been cooperating on a project for the past 3 years.
