Former Bitmain CEO Jihan Wu raises $100 million for new crypto unicorn Matrixport

Wu became a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency space after co-founding Bitmain Technologies in 2013 and planning to take it public in 2018. His most recent company, Matrixport, raised new capital that pushed its valuation to unicorn levels of $1 billion.

With participation from major venture capital firms such as Tiger Global, DST Global, C Ventures, and K3 Ventures, Matrixport raised more than $100 million in its Series C round of funding. As a cryptocurrency financial services company, Matrixport is attempting to implement a Wall Street-like structure in the vast cryptocurrency ecosystem.

According to Matrixport CEO and former Bitmain investor Ge Yuesheng, Matrixport is currently a gathering place for high net worth individuals "who have ambitious expectations for risk and return." As of March 2021, Matrixport reportedly holds over $10 billion in customer assets and intends to go public "within three to five years" as an exit strategy for its investors.

As Cointelegraph reported earlier, Matrixport was founded by Wu Jihan after Bitmain’s IPO was rejected in 2019. Last year, the startup’s revenue peaked at $7 million to $8 million, and during the previous investment cycle, Matrixport was said to have offered to double investors’ money by 2020.

As Cointelegraph previously reported, Wu cited strict policies against cryptocurrency innovation, claiming that it was necessary to “weed out the bad apples from this industry” and repair the industry’s reputation. Before Wu’s exit from Bitmain, Bitmain was valued at an estimated $12 billion in August 2019.

Matrixport currently supports the purchase of the most popular cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), and Tether (USDT) fiat currency trading pairs.