Asian Conglomerates Lead $31M Round for Blockchain Remittance Firm Lightnet

Lightnet, the company behind the Velo Protocol, has just raised $31.2 million from some of Asia's biggest firms.

AccessTimeIconJan 13, 2020 at 10:57 a.m. UTC
Updated May 9, 2023 at 3:05 a.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Lightnet, the company behind the Velo Protocol, recently raised $31.2 million in a Series A round.

The funding was led by major financial and business groups including UOB Venture Management, Seven Bank, Uni-President Asset Holdings, HashKey Capital, Hopeshine Ventures, Signum Capital, Du Capital and Hanwha Investment and Securities, according to a press release on Monday.

  • How NEAR Enables Multichain Access From One Account
    00:56
    How NEAR Enables Multichain Access From One Account
  • Why the NEAR foundation Chose Eigenlayer as a Security Partner
    00:54
    Why the NEAR foundation Chose Eigenlayer as a Security Partner
  • Judge Kaplan Had 'No Love' for Sam Bankman-Fried, Legal Expert Says
    07:08
    Judge Kaplan Had 'No Love' for Sam Bankman-Fried, Legal Expert Says
  • How Bitcoin and Ether's Options Contracts Combined Expiry Could Spike Volatility
    01:11
    How Bitcoin and Ether's Options Contracts Combined Expiry Could Spike Volatility
  • UOB Venture Management is the investment arm of Singapore-based multinational United Overseas Bank, while Seven Bank is part of the group owning the 7-Eleven franchise in Japan. Further adding to the notable roster of backers, Uni-President is a major food conglomerate in Taiwan and Hanwa is a large business group in South Korea. Hashkey Capital is the investment arm of China’s WanXiang Group.

    Bangkok-based Lightnet aims to apply its protocol, based on Stellar's blockchain tech, to the global remittance market, which is estimated to be worth hundreds of billions annually. The firm is initially focusing on the Southeast Asian market, saying that it plans to disrupt an industry so far in the hands of "slow" and "costly" traditional financial institutions.

    “It’s vital that we build an ecosystem to provide Lightnet access to our partners’ vast user base and facilitate deeper penetration into local markets. We project that within three years, Lightnet will facilitate over $50 billion worth of annual transactions through our industry-leading partner network,” Tridbodi Arunanondchai, Lightnet’s vice-chairman, said in the report.

    The firm's chairman, Chatchaval Jiaravanon, is the son of Sumet Jiaravanon, executive chairman of Thailand’s biggest conglomerate, Charoen Pokphand Group. In 2018, he bought Fortune Magazine for $150 million.

    The chairman said earlier this month that Lightnet would grow, in part, due to planned acquisitions. He also told Bloomberg the firm is targeting more than $50 billion in transactions annually within three years.

    Lightnet is building several solutions, with the first expected to carry out its inaugural transaction this quarter. The firm's CEO, Suvicha Sudchai, told Business Insider plans include adding up to 500,000 agents across Asia, as well as partnerships with remittance firms such as MoneyGram, Seven Bank, Yeahka and Ksher.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.


    Read more about