BlackFin Tech Weekly — January 20th, 2025
Every Monday, we publish a short digest which sums up last week’s Fintech activity
Hello FinTech Friends,
Welcome to another week of fintech insights. Let’s explore the news and trends shaping the industry!
Over the last week, we saw a huge uptake in activity, with 18 fintech deals in Europe, raising a total of €362.2 million, with 5 deals in the UK, 3 deals in Germany, 2 deals in France, the Netherlands and Switzerland each, as well as 1 deal in Jersey, Spain, Lithuania, and Czechia each.
Congratulations to the digital asset custodian Komainu on a novel deal; they raised the equivalent of €70m in Bitcoin from Blockstream Capital Partners. To the digital asset bank Sygnum, we give a warm welcome into the rank of a unicorn, which it achieved with its €54m funding round, led by Fulgur Ventures, and with participation from unnamed new and existing investors. And finally, a round of applause to the London-based investment platform for financial advisers Fundment, who closed a €53m Series C round led by Highland Europe, with participation from ETFS Capital.
Let’s dive in
The Nomura-backed digital asset custodian Komainu has raised the equivalent of €70m in a novel Series B transaction; the funds were raised in Bitcoin, reportedly with appropriate hedging and risk management, from Blockstream Capital Partners. Founded in 2018 as a joint venture between the Japanese custodian Nomura, the blockchain expert Ledger and the digital asset manager CoinShares, Komainu provides secure storage solutions for institutional investors in the cryptocurrency space, focusing on compliance, security, and regulatory standards. Komainu serves various clients, including institutional investors, governments, ETP issuers, exchanges, venture funds, foundations and hedge funds. The funding will allow Komainu to accelerate its international growth while adopting advanced technologies developed by the Blockstream Corporation to improve efficiencies and enhance client services in collateral management and tokenization.
Headquartered in Zurich, Sygnum has raised €54m in funding at a unicorn valuation from Fulgur Ventures, as well as unnamed new and existing investors. Sygnum provides digital asset banking services, including cryptocurrency trading, custody, and institutional-grade financial products, to both retail and institutional clients. Founded in 2017 out of an idea at Singapore Fintech festival, and incorporated in both Switzerland and Singapore, Sygnum grew to > CHF 4bn in administration for over 1,900 clients, with licenses in 5 countries and 65 countries supported. The company intends to use the new funding to enhance its market presence in the EU/EEA, initiate regulated operations in Hong Kong, pursue strategic acquisitions, and strengthen its operational resilience by investing in compliance and risk management.
Fundment, an investment platform for financial advisers serving high-net-worth clients, has raised €53m in Series C round led by Highland Europe, with participation from ETFS Capital. Fundment was established in 2018 by seasoned asset manager Ola Abdul, who previously worked at abrdn and BlackRock. The company’s aim is to address the technology challenges faced by financial advisers, who struggle with outdated infrastructure that lacks integration with core applications, hindering their ability to deliver customized, regulated, and timely services. The investment will be allocated to product development, team expansion, and future growth initiatives.
In addition to this week’s fundraising activity, here is the European M&A activity of the week:
IG Group, a global leader in online trading and investments, has announced its acquisition of Freetrade, a UK and subscription based, free commission investment platform, in a deal valued at £160 million. This acquisition is intended to broaden IG Group’s trading and investment products and attract a younger demographic of investors. Freetrade, founded in 2016, manages approximately £2.5 billion in assets and provides commission-free trades to its users. Following the acquisition, Freetrade will continue to operate as a standalone entity under the ownership of IG Group. This move bolsters IG Group’s position in the investment platform market.
AccountsIQ, a financial and accounting management software company based in Ireland, has acquired ExpenseIn, a UK-based expense and invoice management software provider. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. This acquisition allows AccountsIQ to expand its product suite beyond finance teams to serve broader business user needs. ExpenseIn, established in 2015, provides a cloud-based platform for simplifying expense submission, approval, and reporting. The ExpenseIn team, comprising 30 members, will join the AccountsIQ Group, while the brand will continue operating independently. This acquisition enhances AccountsIQ’s capabilities in providing holistic financial and operational solutions; the Group now supports a combined user base of over 175,000 users.
And finally, we bring you four stories from the last week in the Fintech universe:
Retail trading platform eToro, which allows trading in stocks and cryptocurrencies, has filed confidentially with US regulators for a potential IPO, aiming for a New York listing that could value the company at over $5bn. The company chose to pursue a US listing rather than a UK one, as it believes the US market offers broader access to investors and deeper liquidity. The company is being advised by Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and UBS for its IPO plans.
Axio, an Indian fintech company offering buy now, pay later (BNPL) and other financial services, has announced an acquisition deal following a six-year equity partnership with Amazon. The deal, rumored to be valued at over $150 million, aims to help Axio expand its customer base and improve its credit offerings, pending regulatory approvals. Amazon had previously invested $20 million in Axio in August 2024 to support the company's growth and enhance its financial products.
Revolut is planning to expand into private banking for high-net-worth individuals according to three job listings on its website, aiming to compete with established players like UBS and Morgan Stanley, as well as fintechs offering accessible wealth management services. The company is developing investment and private banking services, including a team of relationship managers, and has posted job openings related to this new offering. This move is part of Revolut’s broader strategy to diversify its financial products and establish itself as a comprehensive financial superapp.
Klarna is looking to sell a portfolio of US “pay in four” loans. The sale of the loan portfolio would free up capital to support the loan growth required to meet the expectations of potential IPO investors. This move follows a similar transaction in the UK last year, where Klarna sold its UK BNPL portfolio to the investment fund Elliott Management, unlocking capital to support £30bn in new loans. Klarna is targeting a $15bn valuation for its IPO in the first half of 2025, as one of the most high-profile listings of the year.
Have a great start into the week!
Sources of the fundraising reports