ASCENDEX
3.11.2021 20:58:03 CET | Business Wire | Press release
AscendEX , a global cryptocurrency financial platform, has announced the close of a $50 million Series B raise led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC , with participation from Jump Capital and Alameda Research , as well as Uncorrelated Ventures , Eterna Capital , Acheron Trading , Nothing Research , and Palm Drive Capital . Imperii Partners served as an exclusive financial advisor to AscendEX in support of the Series B fundraise process.
AscendEX, launched under the name “BitMax” in July 2018, offers exchange, custody, and staking services to over one million retail and institutional clients globally. The platform has positioned itself as an infrastructure partner to blockchain companies, specifically in the decentralized finance (“DeFi”) sector, and operates as a validator and yield farming portal for over 60 token projects.
“We are grateful to have very prominent investors involved in our latest fundraising round, ” said George Cao, CEO and Co-founder of AscendEX. “Polychain Capital and Hack VC, as active catalysts of the DeFi ecosystem, have backed some of the industry’s most innovative blockchain networks, exchanges, and trading institutions. Similarly, Alameda Research, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, has emerged as one of the most prolific investors in the industry, fueling growth within both CeFi and DeFi. Participation from Jump Capital, a seasoned Crypto and Fintech investor, further showcases the success of our deep roots in traditional finance, as AscendEX’s core team is proud of our extensive experience in Wall Street quant trading.”
AscendEX is well positioned at the nexus between centralized & decentralized financial sectors, as evidenced by its AscendEX Earn products, and cross-collateralized staking products that allow users to generate yield while trading on leverage. By empowering retail and institutional users to maximize their trading and earning potential, AscendEX has achieved over $200 million in average daily trade volume and provides competitive yields among competing centralized exchanges.
“AscendEX plans to use the Series B funds to accelerate international market entry, and catalyze further product innovation, specifically focused on blockchain-based yield generating protocols,” notes Shane Molidor, Global Head of Business Development at AscendEX. “Building a bridge to the DeFi ecosystem has allowed AscendEX to differentiate itself from other cryptocurrency exchanges and has made the platform a popular destination for innovative DeFi projects to conduct initial exchange offerings (“IEOs”). We are thrilled to collaborate with our new investors to further solidify our unique competitive advantages.”
Sam Trabucco, Co-CEO of Alameda Research, added, “Alameda has had nothing but great experiences working with AscendEX as a customer and market maker, and we’re thrilled to keep expanding our relationship in new ways with this investment.”
“AscendEX is a leader in transitioning crypto projects from primary to secondary markets, as seen through the continued success of the tokens listed on the exchange, ” said Olaf Carlson-Wee, Founder & CEO at Polychain Capital. “We look forward to deepening our collaboration with AscendEX by providing insights into evolving industry trends and providing guidance on top-tier projects to list on the exchange.”
AscendEX uniquely provides dedicated auxiliary support for blockchain projects seeking to list on the platform, including consultation on the token economic design, secondary market liquidity strategies, staking support, liquidity mining, as well as global marketing support and translation services. These supporting services further differentiate AscendEX’s IEO process from other mainstream exchanges, and in turn, allow listings to achieve industry leading results.
"In an extremely competitive crypto exchange landscape, AscendEX has impressively emerged as the leading venue for innovative crypto projects in DeFi, GameFi and crypto infrastructure , " said Saurabh Sharma, Partner at Jump Capital. "AscendEX remains ahead of the curve by constantly innovating and offering unmet needs such as broad staking access and DeFi yield farming for retail investors."
Alex Pack at Hack VC added, “The concept of extracting more value from the crypto held in your wallet has become immensely popular with decentralized lending and yield farming protocol – AscendEX has further expanded on this by cross-collateralizing their wallets with validator nodes, allowing users to trade while earning. No other exchange is offering this degree of flexibility for users to earn and participate in blockchain governance while also trading on leverage.”
To learn more about AscendEX, please visit AscendEX.com .
About AscendEX
AscendEX is a global cryptocurrency financial platform servicing more than one million institutional and retail traders with the resources needed to obtain more value from their crypto investments. Operating at the nexus of centralized finance and decentralized finance, AscendEX’s platform features access to futures and spot trading, a robust wallet infrastructure, and staking support for over 200 industry-leading blockchain projects, all producing industry leading yields and returns, further driving the growth of the crypto ecosystem. In efforts to cultivate scalable and secure forms of decentralized financing, AscendEX has emerged as a leading platform by ROI on its “initial exchange offerings” through supporting some of the industry’s most innovative projects from the DeFi ecosystem. To learn more about how AscendEX leverages best practices from both Wall Street and the cryptocurrency ecosystem to extract the highest value per dollar to its users, please visit www.AscendEX.com
.
About Polychain Capital
The emergence of bitcoin and subsequent blockchain technologies has generated a new digital asset class in which scarcity is based on mathematical properties. Through cryptographic verification and game-theoretic equilibrium, blockchain-based digital assets can be created, issued, and transmitted using software. Polychain is an investment firm committed to exceptional returns for investors through actively managed portfolios of these blockchain assets.
About Hack VC
Hack VC is a private equity firm based in Incline Village, Nevada.
About Alameda Research
Alameda Research was founded in October 2017. We manage over $1 billion in digital assets and trade $1-10 billion per day across thousands of products: all major coins and altcoins, as well as their derivatives. We have a full-scale global operation with the ability to trade on all major exchanges and markets.
About Jump Capital
Jump Capital is a leading venture fund investing in Crypto and Fintech globally.
About Uncorrelated Ventures
Uncorrelated Ventures was founded by Salil Deshpande with Bain's backing to focus on open source and infrastructure software, both traditional and decentralized. Over 14 years as general partner and managing director at Bay Partners and Bain Capital, Salil invested $350M+ into 50+ companies early. Additionally, Salil was on the Forbes Midas List of the 100 best-performing venture investors worldwide in 2013 – 2019, and Business Insider's inaugural Seed-100 list of the 100 best-performing seed investors in 2021.
About Eterna Capital
Eterna Capital is a UK-based venture capital fund focused on backing bold, innovative teams that harness the power of blockchain. Launched in March of 2018, Eterna has invested in numerous high profile deals and is committed to helping entrepreneurs reach their ambitious goals by providing unique insights and support.
About Acheron Trading
Acheron Trading is a designated market maker building liquid markets for digital assets. We trade on centralized and decentralized exchanges worldwide with over $250 million in assets under management.
About Nothing Research
Nothing Research is a multi-strategy venture firm investing in open finance initiatives. It was founded in March 2021 by a group of digital asset market veterans with professional backgrounds from research institutes, hedge funds and leading digital asset trading platforms such as Huobi and AscendEX. It differentiates itself with its desirability to build alongside founders and shapes narratives together with invested projects.
About Palm Drive Capital
Palm Drive Capital is a New York, and Miami-based venture capital and growth equity fund that has invested in over 100 leading software and internet companies around the world.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103006190/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Venture Global and ConocoPhillips Announce 20-Year LNG Sales and Purchase Agreement1.10.2026 22:30:00 CEST | Press release
Today, Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE: VG) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) announced a new, long-term Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) for liquefied natural gas (LNG). Under the SPA, ConocoPhillips will buy 1.0 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG from Venture Global for 20 years, starting in 2030. "Venture Global is proud to welcome ConocoPhillips, one of the world's leading energy companies, as a long-term partner," said Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel. "This agreement reflects continued market confidence in our proven ability to deliver reliable, low-cost U.S. LNG quickly and at scale. We look forward to supporting ConocoPhillips' growing global LNG portfolio for decades to come." About Venture Global Venture Global is an American producer and exporter of low-cost U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) with over 100 MTPA of capacity in production, construction, or development. Venture Global began producing LNG from its first facility in 2022 and is now one of the largest LNG exporters in th
UL Solutions Inc. Completes Acquisition of Eurofins Scientific’s Electrical & Electronics Business1.10.2026 22:05:00 CEST | Press release
UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE: ULS), a global leader in applied safety science, today announced it has completed the acquisition of the electrical and electronics (E&E) business of Eurofins Scientific SE. “This acquisition extends our 132-year commitment to our mission of working for a safer world,” said President and CEO Jennifer Scanlon. “We are thrilled to welcome our new colleagues to UL Solutions. By bringing together complementary expertise and capabilities, we are expanding our global footprint, enhancing our TIC services for electrical safety and connected products, and adding services that support customers around the world.” Eurofins’ E&E business provides testing, compliance and certification services that support global market access for electromagnetic compatibility and wireless testing, electrical safety, medical devices and other technologies. The acquisition adds laboratories and accreditations in EMEA, Asia and the United States to UL Solutions’ global network. About UL Solu
Barnes Aerospace Acquires ATL Turbine Services, Establishing First Aeroengine Component Repair Operation in Europe1.10.2026 20:50:00 CEST | Press release
ATL Turbine Services strengthens Barnes Aerospace's global repair network with specialized turbine component repair capabilities that will serve as a platform for growth across the region. Barnes Aerospace, a global provider of component engineering, manufacturing and repair solutions for the aerospace industry, today announced the acquisition of ATL Turbine Services Ltd. ("ATL Turbine Services"), a Dundee, Scotland-based specialist in the refurbishment and repair of hot-section gas turbine components, marking Barnes Aerospace's first dedicated component repair and overhaul presence in Europe. The acquisition establishes Barnes Aerospace's initial Component Repair and Overhaul (CRO) footprint in Europe, expanding the company's aftermarket presence and strengthening its ability to serve customers in the region. ATL Turbine Services brings established in-region repair, assessment, coating, and engineering capabilities that complement Barnes Aerospace's existing global repair network and
Netmore Named Smart Company of the Year at the Premios iAgua 20261.10.2026 19:00:00 CEST | Press release
Netmore recognized for commitment to Spanish water market backed by locally developed products, proven smart metering expertise, and deep local market knowledge Netmore Group, the leading network operator and platform provider for Massive IoT, today announced it has been named Empresa Smart del Año — Smart Company of the Year — at the Premios iAgua 2026, the awards of iAgua, the Spanish-speaking water sector's leading media platform. The award was presented at the closing gala of the Spain Smart Water Summit, held at the Meliá Avenida América in Madrid. The award recognises a company that has taken an unusual route into water. Netmore is not a technology firm that added connectivity to its portfolio: it is a network operator that decided to specialise in the water cycle. In eighteen months, it has completed four acquisitions and become the world's largest LoRaWAN® network operator, with more than eighteen million IoT devices under contract across more than fifty countries. Its commitme
Elliptic Sets the Engineering Bar for On-Chain Risk With “Built for Compliance” Paper as New Rules Take Hold and Banks Launch a Joint Stablecoin1.10.2026 15:40:00 CEST | Press release
Built for compliance arrives as crypto compliance rules tighten worldwide and a bank-led stablecoin enters the market Elliptic, the global leader in on-chain risk management, today published Built for compliance, a paper setting out the nine engineering decisions that determine whether an on-chain risk system can support fast, accurate and defensible compliance decisions at agentic scale. Machines are already moving money on their own, at machine speed. Compliance teams now have to make hundreds of thousands of decisions a day, at that same speed. However, many on-chain risk systems were never engineered to support that pace. A compliance system that computes exposure on a schedule delivers stale results. One that defines blockchain coverage loosely enough lets a screening miss exposure entirely. A system that skips testing disaster recovery, a spike or an outage, takes down the customer’s compliance system too. That gap between machine speed and system design is exactly what regulator
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom