Spanish crypto exchange Bit2Me plans to add 250 employees during the next 12 months, doubling its headcount, co-founder and CEO Leif Ferreira told CoinDesk.

The company has also signed memorandums of understanding for three acquisitions, including purchasing a 90% stake in a Latin American exchange and buying a fintech company and a software developer, both based in Spain, Ferreira added. More details will be available later this year, he said.

“In a context of many layoffs, now is the time to hold and build,” Ferreira said. “Crypto is not going to stop, no matter how much prices have fallen.”

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Funding for the hiring and acquisitions will come from cash on hand, including part of the 20 million euros ($20.3 million) raised through an initial coin offering in 2021, Ferreira said, though he didn’t rule out adding capital via a strategic partner. “It is not something we need or want to close immediately,” he said. “We are open to a strategic partner coming in. It is not an obsession for us.”

In February, Bit2Me received the first license granted by the Bank of Spain as a “provider of services for the exchange of virtual currency for fiat currency and the custody of digital wallets,” the company said at that time.

In addition to Spain, Bit 2Me operates in Portugal, Italy, France, Brazil and Peru. The company has 600,000 users, 70% of whom are in Spain. Trading volume in 2021 totaled 1.1 billion euros ($1.12 billion).

The company also plans to introduce a Mastercard debit card, a futures trading platform, a lending service and a feature to allow online shops receive payments via cryptocurrencies, all this year.

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