Fasset, a platform that enables cryptocurrency trading, raised $22 million in a Series A funding round that it will use to develop new products and expand its digital asset-driven remittance services in Asia.
The new investment in the London company, which offers zero per cent trading fees, was led by New York-based Liberty City Ventures and Pakistan's Fatima Gobi Ventures. Soma Capital and MyAsiaVC also participated in the round, it said in a statement on Friday.
The funding comes a day after the financial technology company said it had received authorisation to expand its operations in the EU, which will allow it to connect the remittance corridors of the global diaspora to their home markets.
Fasset is focused on promoting "financial inclusion and democratising access to opportunity by enabling a new wave of digital asset owners in our target emerging markets", said Mohammad Raafi Hossain, co-founder and chief executive of Fasset.
"Asset ownership is the strongest way to power healthy livelihoods and economies. Digital asset-driven remittance corridors can unleash a new wave of socioeconomic prosperity through unique product offerings that we’re diligently building,” said Mr Hossain, a former adviser to the UAE Prime Minister’s Office.
Digital assets – including cryptocurrencies and, more recently, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – have grown in popularity thanks to the rise of several exchanges, leading to increased competition to attract more users to a financial technology that is becoming more mainstream.
The global cryptocurrency market was valued at about $1.78 trillion in 2021, and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 58.4 per cent from 2022 to 2027 to hit $32.4tn, according to a study from Research and Markets.
The sector has a market capitalisation of almost $1.9tn as of 10am UAE time on Friday, data from CoinMarketCap showed. Bitcoin, the original and largest cryptocurrency, was trading at $40,164.60, down almost 3 per cent in the past 24 hours, it said.
"Digital assets are increasingly crossing over to the mainstream, and have massive potential to disrupt legacy businesses and markets, especially in the emerging markets," said Emil Woods, managing partner at Liberty City Ventures.
Fasset is in advanced discussions with regulatory authorities and soon plans to launch its services in Indonesia and Pakistan, the company said.
In Indonesia, the company is expected to be granted approval to operate as a full-service cryptocurrency exchange in May. It will soon offer digital asset services in Pakistan.
Aside from product and market expansion, Fasset plans to grow its workforce and aims to double its headcount by the end of this year.
Its product roadmap includes the launch of the Fasset Artist Lab, an NFT marketplace for artists and athletes based in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.
Founded in 2019, Fasset has operations in the UAE and Bahrain. Prior to the Series A investment, the company raised $4.7m over two rounds, the latest of which was a seed funding from Dubai-based Ceras Ventures in May 2021.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
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- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
The view from The National
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
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