Decentralized Finance Platform (DeFi) backed by Kevin O’Leary, WonderFi Technologies, Increases Its Presence in Canada by Buying the Country’s First Regulated Cryptocurrency Exchange.
WonderFi has agreed to pay about $ 162 million (206 million Canadian dollars) to acquire First Ledger Corp, Bitbuy’s parent company. WonderFi aims to become an end-to-end consumer platform for cryptocurrencies and DeFi, according to the official announcement.
Founded in 2016, Bitbuy became a fully regulated cryptocurrency exchange in Canada after receiving a license from the Ontario Securities Commission last November.. The platform has more than 375,000 users who have made transactions for more than 3.4 billion dollars. The announcement claims that Bitbuy had generated more than $ 24 million in revenue in the 12 months ending September 30, 2021.
The details of the transaction revealed that WonderFi would finance the acquisition by issuing 70 million new shares and paying $ 15.7 million in cash upfront and $ 23 million in deferred cash through a vendor buyback note with maturity in 12 months. “WonderFi will retain substantially all current Bitbuy employees and enter into employment agreements with key members of the management team“the ad reads.
Highlighting the importance of a licensed marketplace as a gateway to the digital asset economy, WonderFi CEO Ben Samaroo said:
“The integration of Bitbuy’s suite of products will accelerate and broaden the reach and scope that WonderFi can bring to the market, and will drive long-term growth and value for the company.”
Kevin O’Leary, a former Bitcoin (BTC) critic turned cryptocurrency advocate, commented that the acquisition would allow the two teams to “have the bandwidth, assets and licenses to provide an institutional grade-compliant cryptocurrency platform to investors interested in exposure to centralized and decentralized financial services“.
In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, the celebrity from Shark tank He said that if regulations for stablecoins became more precise, he would be ready to increase his cryptocurrency allocations up to 20%. O’Leary is more interested in stablecoins with US dollar parity, as he considers them an effective hedge against rising levels of inflation..
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