Jacquelyn Melinek

<div id="highlights-block_6182fd13a6e6a" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The company has raised $63 million in total, including a previous Series A round of $13 million in 2018, Shane Molidor, global head of business development at AscendEX told Blockworks</li>
 <li>AscendEx’s platform provides cross-collateralized staking products </li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Cryptocurrency financial platform AscendEX closed a $50 million Series B round led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC.



Other participants include Jump Capital, Alameda Research, Uncorrelated Ventures, Eterna Capital, Acheron Trading, Nothing Research and Palm Drive Capital.



Overall, the company has raised $63 million in total, including a previous Series A round of $13 million in 2018, Shane Molidor, global head of business development at AscendEX told Blockworks.&nbsp;



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="379" height="313" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/AscendEX.jpg" alt="Shane Molidor, global head of business development at AscendEX" class="wp-image-10400" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/AscendEX.jpg?w=379 379w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/AscendEX.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/AscendEX.jpg?w=311 311w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/AscendEX.jpg?w=316 316w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/AscendEX.jpg?w=265 265w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/AscendEX.jpg?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 379px) 100vw, 379px" /><figcaption>Shane Molidor, global head of business development at AscendEX</figcaption></figure></div>



AscendEX’s platform provides cross-collateralized staking products so users can generate yield while trading on leverage, and maximize their trading and earning potential. The company launched a little over three years ago under the name BitMax, but rebranded to AscendEX in the second quarter of 2021, Molidor said.



“That rebrand signaled a paradigm shift for us,” Molidor said. “We’re seeking to ascend, evolve and become more than just an exchange and I think alongside that rebrand we started embracing the platform as more than an exchange, and emphasizing our earning products that bridge CeFi to DeFi,” he added.&nbsp;



Today, AscendEX has hit over $200 million in average daily trade volume and operates as a validator and yield farming portal for over 60 token projects, according to the press release. The funds will be used to enter new markets globally and further product innovation, it said.&nbsp;



The company is a registered trading platform in Singapore, so it has a strong presence in Asia-Pacific countries for its retail demographic, Molidor noted. AscendEX is not available in the US, but has a strong institutional presence in Western and Eastern Europe, he added.&nbsp;



“We’re talking about penetrating new demographics in crypto-centric places like the Middle East, Africa, Latin America — areas where it’s being identified as more than a speculative instrument and a cornerstone of everyday life,” he said.&nbsp;



In general, there has been immense growth in the ecosystem, Molidor said. “Users want to be able to do more with their assets. When you park your bitcoin on a platform you want to earn on that platform,” he said.



Funding for blockchain in the third quarter is at record heights, according to a recent <a href="https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/blockchain-trends-q3-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research report</a> from CB Insights.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="518" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-03-at-4.39.38-PM-1024x518.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10403" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-03-at-4.39.38-PM-1024x518.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-03-at-4.39.38-PM-1024x518.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-03-at-4.39.38-PM-1024x518.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-03-at-4.39.38-PM-1024x518.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-03-at-4.39.38-PM-1024x518.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-03-at-4.39.38-PM-1024x518.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-03-at-4.39.38-PM-1024x518.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-03-at-4.39.38-PM-1024x518.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-03-at-4.39.38-PM-1024x518.png?w=1924 1924w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure></div>



This week alone saw major funding rounds for companies in the metaverse, NFT and GameFi space, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/the-sandbox-raises-93m-in-round-led-by-softbank/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">including</a> a $98 million round for The Sandbox led by SoftBank.

AscendEX

Singapore’s AscendEX Raises $50M Round Led by Polychain Capital, Hack VC

Casey Wagner

<div id="highlights-block_60f9aeb83cef0" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Ariel Ling started her career on Wall Street at KPMG, she ended her stint in traditional finance at Deutsche Bank almost 20 years later </li>
 <li>Ling and co-founder George Cao started AscendEX, formerly BitMax, to revolutionize crypto trading </li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



“I grew up on Wall Street,” said Ariel Ling, co-founder and COO of crypto asset exchange AscendEX, referring to her career in traditional finance.&nbsp;



But after nearly two decades spent working for firms from Lehman Brothers to Deutsche Bank, Ling and a colleague saw where the future of finance was headed.&nbsp;



“We talked about crypto back in 2017,” she said. “The differences and the similarities between crypto trading, which was on the rise, versus equity trading. We saw a lot of similarities in terms of trading mechanisms and volatility.”&nbsp;



Ling’s last role on Wall Street was at Deutsche Bank, where she served as the American head of liquidity and investment products. The position granted her front row access to how financial institutions and corporate clients were approaching their investment strategy. She noticed a business opportunity.&nbsp;



“The idea behind AscendEX was to leverage what we&#8217;ve learned and what we&#8217;ve gained from a Wall Street perspective and see whether we can make some impact on this new industry,” Ling said.&nbsp;



Ling and her co-founder George Cao started BitMax in 2018. The company was rebranded to <a href="https://ascendex.com/en/register?inviteCode=J3B2KN9S" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AscendEX</a> in March 2021. 



“When I look at what intrigued me back in 2018, or at the end of 2017, when George and I were looking at this industry, there are a couple of things,” Ling said. “The way I look at it, blockchain has the potential to have revolutionary and evolutionary impacts on our life.”



Ling said her banking background led her to look at blockchain from a payments perspective. There were ways the technology could be used to streamline the process and maximize profits.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“We do look at blockchain technology, even on the banking side,” she said. “The technology reminds me of the internet. I&#8217;m always intrigued by the technology, and I thought that there was huge potential back then.”&nbsp;



Crypto trading at the time, Ling said, needed a revamp, too.&nbsp;



“I noticed a lot of deficiencies, the market structures and integrations, all sorts of things,” she said. “I think it&#8217;s a very interesting, emerging asset class and it could have a pretty good future, if it goes the right way.”&nbsp;



The crypto environment has been a welcome change for Ling as she continues to build AscendEX.&nbsp;



“I was pretty happy after 20 years as a corporate environment, working with different investment banks and going from a VP all the way up to running the entire liquidity business,” she said. “I’ve assisted with a lot of entrepreneurial pursuits with different planning, but I&#8217;ve never done something myself. It’s been interesting, jumping out of the corporate suit and into a very chaotic entrepreneurial setting.”&nbsp;



The startup culture is just what Ling and Cao were looking for.&nbsp;



“People who know me well know that I really wanted something different,” Ling said. “Having gone through so many organizations, especially large firms, I see the structure, the institutional aspects, and the limiting factors. Coming up with your own business gives you a clean slate, the sky&#8217;s the limit.”&nbsp;



Today AscendEX is a global cryptocurrency exchange offering spot, futures and margin trading. The platform also provides wallet and staking services to clients.&nbsp;



Through growing the business, Ling’s understanding of the asset class has expanded.



“I used to think bitcoin was only for volatility, now I’m a lot more neutral about it,” she said. “I do think it&#8217;s a longer term play. And it is also an investment that you can play into your portfolio.”



Have your own <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/?s=Gone+Crypto">Gone Crypto</a> story to tell? Email us at news@blockworks.co.