London and Dubai-based fintech company Elevate has secured $5 million while US-based crypto exchange Kraken is considering raising a pre-IPO funding round.
Elevate raises $5m pre-Series A
Elevate, a fintech company based in London and Dubai, has secured $5 million in a pre-Series A funding round from Dubai-based Negma Ventures.
The fresh round will be used to expand into the Middle East and Africa. The company plans to expand to more emerging markets and introduce new financial products such as savings and investment accounts.
Founded in 2021 by Faris Keenan, Khalid Keenan and Youcef Oudjidane, Elevate offers solutions for remote workers and freelancers in emerging markets to manage their finances better. The platform helps users receive payments effortlessly from US and international employers and major freelancing platforms such as Upwork, Maqsam, Paypal, Deel, and Toptal.
Elevate’s offering includes debit cards for online spending and provides market-leading foreign exchange (FX) rates for sending money home. The company allows users to transfer funds back to their local USD accounts for a flat fee of $10.
Crypto bourse Kraken seeks $100m in pre-IPO funding
US-based crypto exchange Kraken is considering raising a final funding round ahead of a possible initial public offering (IPO) after receiving inquiries from potential investors during the current digital-asset market rally, The Business Times reported.
The exchange is expected to seek more than $100 million in its pre-IPO round, the report added, citing a source.
The fundraising could reportedly be completed by the end of the year.
Kraken is the world’s third-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, after Binance and Coinbase, according to Coinmarketcap. Currently, the firm claims to offer full services to users across Asia, including China, a country that outlawed crypto trading in late 2021, according to its website.
Last year, Kraken agreed to shut its crypto-staking business in the US, and pay $30 million to settle the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charges over selling unregistered securities.