Ledger Holdings, the parent company of bitcoin options exchange LedgerX, has secured $ 11.4 Million in series B round of financing. The funding round was led by Miami International Holdings Inc. and Huiyin Blockchain Venture Investments, a subsidiary of investment conglomerate the Huiyin Group. LedgerX will utilize the fresh inflow of funds to materialize its plan to operate a regulated exchange and clearing house for bitcoin and other digital currencies. Paul Chou, CEO LedgerX LLC, in a statement, mentions,
In the short term, these investments will further our application to become a regulated exchange and clearing house for bitcoin options. In the long term, these strategic investors will help us enter additional marketplaces and territories.
Currently, the New York-based bitcoin swap exchange is awaiting regulatory approval from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Upon approval, it would be the first federally regulated bitcoin options exchange and clearing house to list and clear fully-collateralized, physically-settled bitcoin options for the institutional market.
Also, the participating institutions will be able to leverage the LedgerX platform to obtain and hedge bitcoin using exchange-traded and centrally-cleared options contracts.
Thomas P. Gallagher, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MIH, stated,
MIH is excited to be involved with a company on the cutting edge of a new exchange space involving digital currency. We believe that our investment with LedgerX furthers our mission to be at the forefront of innovations for the financial services marketplace.
The firm has earlier raised $1.5 million from Google Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and few other investors. It had also obtained a temporary license from CFTC in late 2015. Its management team consists of Goldman Sachs, MIT and CFTC alumni, who bring with them, the financial expertise, technical talent and regulatory experience to the firm. James Wo, President of Huiyin Blockchain Venture Investments, said,
We believe a regulated bitcoin market could substantially expand the bitcoin economy. In this regard, a vibrant options market, which LedgerX plans to build, is a critical foundation to the entire ecosystem.
