Michael Bodley

<div id="highlights-block_620cd12e96957" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Aurox plans to go public in the fourth quarter, though a listing could happen sooner</li>
 <li>The company did not sell any of its tokens as part of the deal</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Trading platform Aurox has taken in outside capital for the first time as the company <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-trading-terminal-taking-steps-toward-public-listing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">prepares to go public</a> later this year.



Aurox raised a $5 million seed round at a post-money valuation of $25 million, CEO Giorgi Khazaradze told Blockworks. The valuation is intentionally low, Khazaradze said, to make room for additional venture funding and to demonstrate growth before an initial public offering.



Deborah Braun and Brett Rosen of investment firm RB Capital participated in the round, with other backers including a number of high-net worth individuals.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="266" height="300" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg" alt="Giorgi Khazaradze" class="wp-image-16299" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=266 266w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=910 910w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=1364 1364w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=228 228w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=232 232w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=195 195w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=71 71w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=44 44w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=1368 1368w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 266px) 100vw, 266px" /><figcaption>Giorgi Khazaradze</figcaption></figure></div>



The plan is to raise “another round and potentially another few rounds” before becoming a public company, Khazaradze said.&nbsp;



“The initial traction of us going public always revolved around this deal,” Khazaradze said.



Aurox offers its spin on a Bloomberg trading terminal for crypto, including support for decentralized finance (DeFi) — taking a cut of every trade executed via smart contracts. The company additionally oversees its own token, URUS, and did not sell any tokens in the fundraise.



Because Khazaradze and other executives own shares with so-called super-voting powers — with a 10-to-1 ratio — Aurox’s existing ownership is set to maintain control of the company.



The trading platform is slated to go public in the fourth quarter of this year, though that could happen earlier. All options for doing so are on the table, including a traditional initial public offering (IPO), merging with a special purpose acquisition company, undergoing a reverse merger or listing directly.



Khazaradze declined to comment on the most likely outcome, though he said “there’s definitely a winning route” that is awaiting legal signoff.



The funds are slated to fuel the company’s hiring for product roles, release new products and cover the costs of a listing later this year.



“Now that we have the initial money, we can be selective as to who we raise money from,” he said.



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Aurox

Crypto Trading Platform Aurox Takes First Outside Money in Advance of Public Offering

<div id="highlights-block_61f8672b1acbf" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Aurox operates a crypto trading platform that’s akin to a Bloomberg terminal for digital assets</li>
 <li>The company, founded in 2020, now has more than 60,000 registered traders</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Cryptocurrency trading platform Aurox is the latest digital asset company to eye an initial public offering.&nbsp;



The plan is for the company to go public in the fourth quarter of this year — though it could happen sooner — Chief Executive Officer Giorgi Khazaradze told Blockworks. Options on the table include tapping investment banks to underwrite a traditional listing, merging with a SPAC, undergoing a reverse merger or going the direct listing route.



Advisors to the company have suggested a listing on the Nasdaq, given Aurox’s technology-heavy makeup, but the company could list on another stock exchange.&nbsp;



Aurox is an anomaly when it comes to crypto startups in that the business. Founded in 2020, it is entirely self-funded, having taken in no venture capital dollars. Khazaradze said the often hefty equity demands imposed by venture capital firms have not been an attractive source of funding for the company.&nbsp;



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="266" height="300" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg" alt="Giorgi Khazaradze" class="wp-image-16299" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=266 266w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=910 910w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=1364 1364w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=228 228w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=232 232w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=195 195w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=71 71w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=44 44w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Image-266x300.jpeg?w=1368 1368w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 266px) 100vw, 266px" /><figcaption>Giorgi Khazaradze</figcaption></figure></div>



“(Venture capitalists) have so many [stipulations] that they might as well control the company,” he said. “So, you might as well give them 51 percent at that point.”



The company operates what is essentially a Bloomberg terminal for crypto, including support for decentralized finance (DeFi) projects, and oversees its own token. Trades on the platform, which has ties to a number of exchanges, are executed via smart contracts — forming essentially a prime brokerage model for routing DeFi trades. Aurox takes a percentage on every trade made on the platform.



“The more DeFi gets involved into the traditional financial side, the more people will get educated, and the more eyes will come into the DeFi sector of cryptocurrency,”&nbsp; Khazaradze said.



The company now consists of about 20 employees, with plans to hire two or three more developers in short order.&nbsp;



Aurox now has about 60,000 crypto traders the company counts as users, with trading volume eclipsing $600 million last year.&nbsp;



The firm has also explored developing proprietary crypto trading strategies based around high-frequency trading models that could be opened up to outside investors as a hedge fund down the line.



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