Paxos Closes $300M Series C Funding Round
- The latest funding round was led by growth capital firm Oak, and saw participation from previous investors such as PayPal, Mithril Capital, WestCap, and others.
- Now with valuation of $2.4 billion, Paxos will continue to commit to regulation, security, and compliance.
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Cryptocurrency firm Paxos is now valued at $2.4 billion after a massive $300 million Series D funding round led by growth capital firm Oak HC/FT, the Paxos said in a press release on 29 April.
According to the announcement, the newly acquired funds will help Paxos hire new team members to scale its operations, increase platform capacity, and invest in innovation. The company will continue its investment in the development of enterprise-grade infrastructure, and further commit to regulation, security, and compliance. The firm’s co-founder and CEO, Charles Cascarilla, said in a statement:
“Demand for our enterprise solutions has accelerated much faster than we could have anticipated. It validates our approach to providing the most innovative and regulated enterprise solutions to replatform the financial system and create the digital economy of the future.”
The $300 million funding round was led by Oak, a growth capital firm focused on fintech, and also saw participation from previous investors such as PayPal, Declaration Partners, Mithril Capital, Senator Investment Group, Liberty City Ventures, WestCap and others. According to the blog post, to date Paxos has raised more than $500 million in funding, with its last Series C round fetching the company around $142 million in December 2020.
Founded in 2012, Paxos has become one of the major industry players to connect traditional investors to the crypto market, and enable its users to tokenize, custody, trade, and settle digital assets. Last week, the firm received a preliminary approval for a bank charter from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, furthering its plans to establish the Paxos National Trust Bank. Earlier in the month, Paxos also applied for a clearing agency registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Paxos also became the infrastructure provider of PayPal last year, enabling customers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies — such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin — directly through the PayPal app. Last week, the company further expanded its relationship with PayPal by assisting its mobile payment services app Venmo in launching crypto trading.
- PayPal USD (PYUSD) will be issued by Paxos and the Ethereum blockchain, and is backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term Treasuries, and similar cash equivalents.
- The company said the stablecoin can be redeemed for U.S. dollars at all times, and exchanged for any other crypto supported by the platform, including BTC, ETH, BCH, and LTC.
PayPal logo and sign in front of PayPal Holdings headquarters building in North San Jose Innovation District in Silicon Valley, San Jose, California, USA, 17 March, 2019. Michael Vi/Shutterstock
- Canadian customers who have no funds in their Paxos accounts will have their accounts automatically closed on 9 May, while the rest will be disabled on 2 June.
- Paxos is not the only company to be leaving Canada, with cryptocurrency exchanges dYdX and OKX saying they will wind down their businesses in the country due to “new regulations”.
- Both crypto exchange Coinbase and stablecoin issuer Paxos have stated that they will no longer accept or initiate U.S. dollar payments through Silvergate Bank.
- The two noted that cash transactions for institutional clients will now be carried out through their other banking partners, and that the move had no impact on pound and euro payments.