Brazilian fintech Capitual, which operates in the crypto-assets sector, has received a $16 million investment from Azimut, one of Europe’s largest independent investment houses.
The goal is to use this funding for the startup’s expansion in the European market and in Mexico, where Azimut also has significant operations.
Founded in 2019, Capitual has more than 4.5 million customers and records an average monthly transaction volume of nearly $1 billion.
In Brazil, Capitual was once a significant partner of Binance and currently provides local support and access to the financial system for foreign crypto-asset brokerages such as Kucoin, Huobi, and Bitget.
The startup, which has its own digital banking app, converts fiat currency into digital tokens.
With the recent funding, the fintech has reached a valuation of over $323 million.
Expansion of operations in LatAm and Europe
“We want to replicate the product we have in Brazil in other countries, serving our partners in other jurisdictions as well. The idea is to become a blockchain technology hub in these markets,” Guilherme Nunes, CEO of Capitual, says in a statement.
Nunes believes that Azimut’s entry into Capitual’s business adds to Capitual’s experience in serving investors in the traditionally regulated market, as well as its internal governance and compliance policies.
For Azimut, Capitual expands its access to blockchain technology and digital assets.
Azimut develops a series of initiatives in the area of digital assets, including management of cryptocurrency funds, venture capital for investment in startups, and tokenized representation of fund shares that may come to Brazil as soon as local regulation allows.
In 2021, Azimut – which has its core operations based in Italy – was one of the first asset managers in the world to launch a securities token in partnership with Sygnum Bank on the Luxembourg market.
The token represents $5 million in debt securities of small and medium-sized Italian companies.
A leader in a growing industry
Awarded 2022 Best Cryptocurrency Bank in Brazil by the Crypto Awards, Capitual is asserting itself as a leader in the growing digital asset industry and plans to expand its operations outside of Brazil, starting with Europe and Mexico.
Capitual has obtained a license to provide crypto-assets services from Italy in Europe. With this authorization, it can take digital assets to the rest of the eurozone markets.
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In Brazil, the fintech has a partnership with Tecban’s Banco 24 Horas network, which allows withdrawals from cryptocurrencies at 24,000 ATMs.
In 2022, Capitual became embroiled in a controversy with its former partner Binance, the world’s largest crypto-assets broker, by refusing to perform banking transactions without having registration data to comply with users’ KYC (“Know Your Customer”) requirement.
The legal battle led to the blocking of R$452 million (around $87 million) and a 20-day halt in withdrawals and deposits in Brazilian reals by some 4 million of Binance’s Brazilian customers.