XLD Finance raises $13M to build APIs that enable financial access through crypto
- Written by Telegraph Magazine
Investment will be used to accelerate product development and geographical expansion
SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 19 July 2022 - XLD Finance, a borderless decentralised ecosystem that provides financial tools to emerging economies, announced today that it has successfully raised US$13M during the pre-Series A funding round led by Dragonfly Capital and Infinity Ventures Crypto.The funds will be used to enable XLD Finance to scale its product and engineering teams to accelerate its API and product development efforts, and to expand its network of licensed partner financial institutions, as well as its merchant and biller network.
The round saw participation from Advance AI, Circle, Digital Currency Group (DCG), IDG Capital, Insignia Venture Partners, Integra Partners, Morningstar Ventures, Openspace Ventures, Sfermion, Shima Capital, Transcend Fund, TrustToken (TUSD), UOB Venture Management, FBG Capital, Kronos, Yield Guild Games (YGG), YOLO Ventures, Emfarsis and twenty other investors.
Established in June 2021, XLD Finance is building infrastructure to enable the delivery of financial tools to emerging economies through APIs that bridge web 3.0 and traditional finance. Its core products include crypto-based payments, disbursements, and crypto-to-fiat offramp APIs which allows web3 and crypto projects to offer tools to their users typically available only to traditional financial institutions.
With a merchant network of over 10,000 and growing, XLD Finance currently serves customers in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, and Bangladesh.
It launched its first ecosystem project, xSpend, in January 2022, allowing users to spend their GameFi tokens and stablecoins to pay utility bills, buy mobile credits, and purchase goods and services using only their Metamask, Phantom, or Ronin wallet. xSpend was introduced to the Malaysian market in June 2022 after debuting in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, and Bangladesh.
This month, XLD Finance is launching OmniX, a crypto disbursement platform that simplifies crypto disbursements allowing guilds and projects to pay thousands of people with crypto in three clicks. XLD Finance's roadmap includes a crypto settlement API for merchants, an algorithmic stablecoin, and a web3 wallet Software Development Kit (SDK).
"People in emerging economies often encounter barriers that prevent them from creating financial accounts, paying for goods and services without their physical presence, sending money to loved ones at a low cost, accessing affordable credit, and building a savings portfolio, all of which prevent them from experiencing a better quality of life. I want to see a future where anyone with a mobile phone or computer and internet access can use "bank-like" financial tools via their preferred DeFi protocol or exchange," said XLD Finance Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Ian Estrada.
Both XLD Finance's Co-founders, Ian Estrada and Herbie Fu, bring with them extensive experience in financial services and web3.
Estrada has had more than a decade of experience in telecommunications, financial technology, cryptocurrency, and venture capital. Prior to establishing XLD Finance, he held senior executive positions in the Philippines in general management, product, and strategy at Globe Telecom, the country's largest telecommunications company; JG Summit, one of the largest Filipino diversified conglomerates; Cashalo, the Philippines' largest consumer lending startup; GCash, a leading payments company backed by the Alibaba Group; and BPI Globe BanKO, the microfinance arm of the Bank of the Philippine Islands.
Fu, who is also the Chief Strategy Officer of XLD, is an early participant in the crypto and DeFi space. He has invested in over 100 crypto projects, including YGG, 0x, TrustToken, FTT, Solana, Chainlink, and M1 Network. He was also a co-founder of a $60 million multi-strategies crypto fund based in San Francisco.
Commenting on the funding round, Brian Lu, Founding Partner of Infinity Ventures Crypto said, "We believe in XLD's vision of providing infrastructure for financial inclusion in emerging markets. There is an opportunity to solve the very real global challenge of financial access with less complexity through blockchain and decentralisation; XLD's blockchain-based products will become as relevant as more traditional options."
Hashtag: #XLDFinance #DragonflyCapital #InfinityVenturesCrypto
About XLD Finance
XLD is the borderless decentralized ecosystem that provides financial tools across emerging economies. XLD's goal is to modernize the delivery and infrastructure of financial services to provide all users with simple and dependable financial tools built on decentralized technology.
For more information about XLD Finance, please visit https://xld.finance/
About Dragonfly Capital
Dragonfly Capital is a renowned global crypto venture fund managed by experienced VCs and seasoned builders. The fund backs founders and companies across all sectors in the cryptoasset class, such as infrastructure, DeFi, NFT, gaming, and more. Combining distinguished industry presence and cross-border influence, Dragonfly Capital provides proven access and support for its broad portfolio.
About Infinity Ventures Crypto (IVC)
Infinity Ventures Crypto (IVC) was founded to empower and invest in pioneering GameFi, DeFi and Web3 startups. The fund's partners have invested in crypto assets since 2015 and have guided companies through a rapidly-evolving landscape. Since August 2021, IVC, currently the most active crypto VC in Asia with over 150 portfolio investments, and has made numerous strategic investments into a diverse range of startups including Yield Guild Games (YGG) and the Japanese yen-pegged stablecoin, JPYC. It is supported by Animoca Brands, Digital Currency Group, Circle, SEGA, and more. IVC aims to innovate, build, and catapult forward the next generation of founders.
