RIYADH: Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency internationally, traded lower on Thursday, falling by 0.72 percent to $29,667.34, as of 9:00 a.m. Riyadh time.
Ether, the second most traded cryptocurrency, was priced at $1,922.94 down by 3.31 percent, according to data from Coindesk.
Babel Finance valued at $2 billion following its latest fundraising
Babel Finance, a cryptocurrency lender and asset manager based in Hong Kong, announced on Wednesday that it had raised $80 million in a new round of funding at a $2 billion valuation, Reuters said.
As part of the Series B financing round, Jeneration Capital, Circle Ventures, and 10T Holdings joined existing investors Dragonfly Capital and BAI Capital.
Babel said that a number of family offices were also involved in the round. In its previous round, a year earlier, the company raised $40 million.
The company, which specializes in crypto lending and trading, limits its offerings to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins. Last year, the firm’s loan balances stood at $3 billion, with 500 customers on its customer list.
Cryptocurrency crash devalues Ukraine’s government’s crypto fundraise
According to Reuters, Ukraine, battered by three months of war, plans to continue tapping cryptocurrency investors in order to raise funds, following a fall in prices that practically wrecked the country’s fundraising efforts.
The Ukrainian government used social media to solicit cryptocurrency donations following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s vice prime minister, aimed to rally crypto investors this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The government’s “Aid for Ukraine” fund raised more than $60 million in cryptocurrency on March 19. However, two months later, on May 19, Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine’s deputy minister for digital transformation, said the total raised was $51.5 million.
Bornyakov said the government spent $45 million of the aid raised in the “Aid for Ukraine” fund on equipment for Ukraine’s army before the crash, Reuters reported.
Recent weeks have seen a sharp decline in cryptocurrencies. After dropping 17 percent in April, Bitcoin has lost more than 20 percent of its value so far in May, highlighting the risks involved with holding the highly volatile asset.
