Taiwanese blockchain fintech XREX secures $17m to expand fiat currency portfolio

XREX, a Taipei-based crypto-fiat fintech company that drives financial inclusion via blockchain, has announced raising $17 million in its pre-Series A funding round led by CDIB Capital Group.

SBI Investment, Global Founders Capital, ThreeD Capital, E.Sun Venture Capital, System Corporation, Metaplanet Holdings, AppWorks, Black Marble, New Economy Ventures, and Seraph Group also participated in the funding round, which was oversubscribed by 200%

XREX, founded in August 2018, said it will use the funding to expand its fiat currency portfolio, acquire additional licenses, and forge partnerships with more financial institutions and digital wallets.

The startup aims to drive financial inclusion by solving the dollar liquidity shortage issue in emerging economies. It offers innovative solutions to help cross-border SMEs compete on an even playing field.

“Our mission is to foster global financial inclusion by leveraging blockchain. Many of of our team members are from or have lived in the markets were we serve,” said XREX CEO and co-founder Wayne Huang.

By working with local regulators and financial institutions, XREX has pioneered tools such as BitCheck and MyXchange to help merchants and SMEs in emerging markets reduce forex loss, gain access to US dollars and seamlessly cross over from informal to formal economy.

Capitalizing on a successful series of new features, including their mandatory User Public Profile as well as their Risk Level Detector features, XREX will roll out a user Reputation Index next year to bolster safety, transparency, and accountability while encouraging social networking.

The company also said it successfully detected and prevented fraud rings from Russia and Nigeria from using the platform, attesting to XREX as one of the safest crypto-flat currency platforms in the world.

Recognizing compliance is core to digital currency adoption, XREX partners with several leading compliance and anti-money laundering providers such as CipherTrace, Sum&Substance, and Trisa.

“This round will accelerate XREX’s capability of combining their unmatched cybersecurity expertise with leading compliance technologies to create a safer and cleaner ecosystem for crypto-enabled merchants, digital asset owners, and entrepreneurs,” said Joseph Chan, a partnet at AppWorks who serves on XREX’s board.