Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story pegged Tiger Global’s latest investment in PDAX at $28.93 million and the Series B funds it has raised so far at $41 million based on regulatory filings. The company has clarified that the funding also includes “other financial instruments,” which brings Tiger Global’s investment to $35 million and the Series B funds raised to over $50 million.
New York-based investment firm Tiger Global Management has invested $35 million in cryptocurrency exchange Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX), the company’s founder Nichel Gaba told DealStreetAsia.
The investment was part of PDAX’s Series B round. The Tiger Global-led round closed at over $50 million, the Philippine startup announced on Thursday.
The other investors in the round include UK-based Kingsway Capital, Jump Capital, Draper Dragon, Oak Drive Ventures, DG Daiwa Ventures, Ripple, UBX Ventures, BEENEXT Ventures, and Cadenza Capital Management.
Founded in 2018, PDAX allows Filipinos to buy and sell bitcoin and other digital coins. It is similar to other web-based brokerages for stock and other securities but specialises in cryptocurrency.
Traders and investors on PDAX, which has about 500,000 users, can buy fractional coins, or partial pieces of any cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin, benefitting those who cannot afford to buy a whole coin.
“PDAX is making crypto more accessible to millions of people in the Philippines. We are excited to back Nichel and the team as they continue to expand the platform and deliver a top-tier customer experience,” said Tiger Global partner Alex Cook in a statement.
Tiger Global’s investment in PDAX comprises $29 million in equity funding, according to a regulatory filing seen by DealStreetAsia – DATA VANTAGE.
The filing with Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) showed that PDAX has allotted Series B3 preference shares to Internet Fund VII, a vehicle of Tiger Global, at $1,186.79 apiece.
“There are different types of financial instruments involved [in the transaction],” explained Gaba.
PDAX, he said, will use the proceeds from its latest round to build safe and accessible infrastructure for the digital asset economy.
The company had in August 2021 announced raising $12.5 million for the first close of its Series B round. It had then said that the capital would be used to expand Bonds.ph — the country’s first mobile application that allows small investors to buy government securities with their smartphones. It was launched in 2020 by UnionBank of the Philippines in partnership with PDAX.
The crypto exchange recently added new tradeable tokens to its platform. These include Aave, Uni, Enjin, Compound, Basic Attention Token, Chainlink, and GRT.
“Crypto is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the internet. The Philippines is already seeing applications in play-to-earn games, NFT projects, cross-border remittance, trading and investment,” Gaba said.
Tiger on the prowl
Tiger Global, which is currently in the market to raise a $10 billion venture capital fund, has been on a deal-making spree in Asia.
Its investment in PDAX is the firm’s fifth in Southeast Asia this year. Tiger recently led a $15 million Series B funding round for Ayoconnect, an Indonesian fintech platform developing application programming interfaces.
It has also invested in Singapore-based payables software startup Spenmo, e-commerce platform Moglix, and Indonesian bookkeeping startup Lummo.
Tiger Global has been actively investing in Southeast Asia, having backed more than 12 startups in the region since 2021. Its portfolio companies include Ruangguru, PAYFAZZ, Xendit, Ula, Lummo, Moglix, Nansen, Spenmo, Ayoconnect, Matrixport, and LingoAce.
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