Singapore-based blockchain startup Change has raised $15m from its ICO as its looks to create a global FinTech network that defies the norms of traditional banking.
Change, which claims to be the first global decentralysed crypto bank, believes that the acceleration of blockchain will make banks obsolete. The startup says it will offer its customers a card and access to a marketplace of Fintech.
It wants to enable consumers to be able to buy anything from plane tickets to coffee using cryptocurrency. Change also plans to facilitate the storage of all major cryptocurrencies, easy management of crypto portfolios and the simple transfers of funds between peers. One of the examples it uses is: sign up in Uruguay, receive your card at home in Italy, buy a beer in Thailand with Ethereum and invest into a personalized automated stock portfolio in Singapore.
To reach this goal it has launched an ICO campaign, which will end on October 16. It has already raised over $15m from over 5000 backers, which include?BlockchainAssets, an investment firm focusing on blockchain opportunities.
It has already received backing from ICO Bank, a blockchain crowdfunding platform, will KR Token?is covering Change token sale in Korea. The startup recently announced its intention to launch Change App in?December 2017.
The Change?team, which consists of primarily European entrepreneurs, is lead by Kristjan Kangro, who is the former CFO of Southeast Asia-based VC Expara.?Other members of the team include Arthur Luha??r, the CEO and Co-founder of Singapore-based robo advisory platform?Smartly, and Gustav Liblik, the CEO of First Meta.
Singapore FinTech?
2017 is already a record year for FinTech investment in Singapore according to data by FinTech Global, with the first half of the year seeing over $150m worth of investments.
Until the close of Q2 2017, 2015 was the year that FinTech in Singapore saw the largest amount of funding across a single year with $140.2m. But the first half of 2017 has already surpassed that value by 13.4% with $159m-worth of investment.
Earlier this year, Singapore-based TenX has netted $80m to help with the adoption of blockchain in everyday life. Founded in 2015, the company is blockchain payment platform, offering users the chance to pay with?their cryptocurrency in the real-world.
Copyright ? 2017 FinTech Global
