Crypto Unicorn Amber Valued At $3 Bln After Temasek-led Funding Round

Temasek is the latest addition to a long list of prolific shareholders in the Singapore-based firm. Sequoia China, Pantera Capital, Tiger Global Management, Tru Arrow Partners and Coinbase Ventures also participated in the Series B+ funding round, Amber said in a press release.

This brings total capital raised by Amber to $328 million. The company had reached unicorn status last year after a $100 million funding round in June.

Temasek is an active investor in the crypto space, with holdings in CoinDCX and FTX. Until recently, the state-owned investment firm also had a modest share in Coinbase, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges.

Still, the news comes after Singapore clamped down on advertisements for highly risky crypto investments, amid a boom in retail trading.

But increasing global adoption has greatly benefited crypto platforms. Amber said its cumulative transaction volumes crossed $1 trillion in 2021, while assets under management grew to over $5 billion. Steven Ji, Partner at Sequoia China said-

Digital assets are becoming an increasingly important category to watch, especially for institutional investors.

Founded in 2017, Amber serves both institutional and consumer markets. The company’s retail trading app, WhaleFin, has more than a hundred thousand downloads in the Google Play Store.

CEO Michael Wu said the latest investment will help Amber expand WhaleFin into more developed and emerging markets, and will also fuel hiring in Europe and the Americas.

Earlier this year, Amber had entered the Japanese market through the acquisition of  crypto exchange  operator DeCurret. CEO Wu had last year also flagged nascent plans for a U.S. listing  in 2022 or 2023, in an interview with the South China Morning Post.