HONG KONG, April 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Asia’s leading one-stop cryptocurrency and social investment platform Kikitrade announced today the company has completed a $6 million strategic round, co-led by AppWorks and Media Asia (SEHK: 8075) with participation from Audeo Ventures and existing shareholders. This round of funding follows a $12 million investment led by internationally renowned investors Dragonfly Capital and Alan Howard last summer, bringing the total funds raised in the past 12 months to $18 million.

The fresh funding is led by AppWorks, a leading venture capital firm and accelerator in Taiwan and Southeast Asia. It manages 3 venture capital funds with a total size of $212 million and is also the world’s second largest institutional investor of FLOW Tokens.  Another investor Audeo Ventures is a venture capital firm with a global aspiration, focusing on fintech, consumer tech, and blockchain, it is also an investor of a crypto financial services platform BlockFi.

Media Asia is Asia leading entertainment group , a member of Lai Sun Development Company Ltd under the chairmanship of Dr. Peter Lam. The principal business of Media Asia include artiste management, production and distribution of series of films ,TV programs, music and concerts , The group has won countless awards and honors over the years, including blockbuster movies "Infernal Affairs Trilogy" and "Initial D" etc.  Recently, Media Asia has become a strategic partner with Tencent and established its new media, social commerce and virtual entertainment products.

With this investment, Media Asia will enter a strategic partnership with Kikitrade, and form a joint venture to launch "Kiki NFT Platform".  With ever richer resources, the joint venture will drive the integration of creative industries and blockchain technology, aiming at building a new era of entertainment for Generation Z. 

Kikitrade’s Elite Performance Lures Top Investors To Drive Mass Crypto Adoption

Kikitrade has reinvented the crypto investing experience by making its platform social-driven. "SocialFi" investment model allows the public to gain more benefits through their own social and community influences, such as asking onboarding questions and participating in community voting activities to win tokens or NFT airdrops, and turns Kikitrade into crypto investors’ go-to place. At present, Kikitrade has served more than 200,000 users from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Ching Tseng, Web3 Principal of AppWorks said: "AppWorks is committed to supporting the most promising startups and helping accelerate their to incremental growth through cross-pollination with our ecosystem of 435 active companies. Kikitrade is built from the ground up based on the founding team’s unique insights on "social investing". We believe that is the future of finance, not only for cryptocurrencies, but also for the entire spectrum of  investment. Kikitrade has a great potential to drive innovation across investing communities."

CT Yip, Executive Director of Media Asia said: "Media Asia has been achieving breakthrough developments in the fast growing digital entertainment field, which has become a new normal. The Group looks forward to cooperating with Kikitrade to meet the entertainment demands from the new generations, accelerate digitalization, and curate the best virtual entertainment experiences to Asian users."

Pasha Tinkov, Managing Director at Audeo Ventures said: "Kikitrade is at the forefront of integrating crypto investing with a dedicated social platform. Audeo Ventures is delighted to join hands with world-renowned investors in supporting Kikitrade’s new funding round and is confident in its management’s capacity to materialize their growth plans."

Sean Tao, co-founder and CEO of Kikitrade, said: "The strategic investors introduced this time will enrich Kikitrade’s resources in the "social investment" and Social-Fi avenues, and effectively help Kikitrade expand its international market. We will continue to make it easier for the general public to understand cryptocurrencies and develop a sense of camaraderie in the community, so that crypto investing is no longer lonely."

Taking Social Investing To Next Level And Expand International Market

The funds raised this time will be deployed to expand into new international markets. The company had its foray to the Middle East last year, it is planning to enter the wider Southeast Asian markets this year. In addition, Kikitrade plans to strengthen its development team to 100 people and deliver more product innovations to bring users a better SocialFi experience. The company also plans to introduce hundreds of key opinion leaders (KOLs), media, and cryptocurrency exchanges’ CEOs to the platform to interact with the community, and makes investing ever more interactive and fun.

About Kikitrade

Kikitrade is Asia’s leading one-stop social investing platform that allows beginners to purchase and manage digital assets at ease. The company was founded in 2020 by Everest Ventures Group (EVG), a Web 3 focused venture studio, and received US$12 million in funding after launching in 2021.

Investors include British hedge fund billionaire Alan Howard, renowned blockchain venture capital fund Dragonfly Capital, co-founder of Ethereum Joseph Lubin, and Chairman of Head & shoulders Financial Group Stanley Choi, etc.Animoca Brands, a blockchain game giant with a valuation of more than $5 billion, is Kikitrade’s second largest shareholder. Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, is also the chairman of Kikitrade’s board of directors.

The Kikitrade community has garnered more than 100 investment analysts, key opinion leaders (KOLs), cryptocurrency ventures’ CEOs, etc, who have been actively sharing unique insights and latest analysis on the social investing platform, making the community one of the most vibrant in Asia.

Learn more: www.kikitrade.com

About AppWorks

Based in Taiwan, founded in 2009, AppWorks is a leading startup community and venture capital firm built by founders, for founders. AppWorks Accelerator, the renowned 6-month free accelerator program, admits 30 – 40 AI, Blockchain, and Southeast Asia startups per batch from across the region and boasts 435 active startups and 1,402 founders in its alumni network. Collectively, all companies produce a turnover of US$ 13.9B and provide 20,169 jobs, with an aggregate valuation reaching US$ 27.8B.

As a VC, AppWorks manages three venture capital funds totaling US$ 212 million, and attracted a diverse array of LPs, including Taiwan Mobile, Axiom Asia Private Capital, Fubon Life, Wistron, Cathay Life, and Taiwan’s National Development Fund. AppWorks has funded more than 70 names, including leading startups in several verticals such as Lalamove, Dapper Labs / Flow, Figment, Animoca Brands, 91APP, Carousell, ShopBack, Tiki, 17LIVE, and KKday, while having produced 5 IPOs, 4 IEOs, 1 hectocorn, 2 decacorns, and 5 unicorns.

Learn more: appworks.tw

About Audeo Ventures

Audeo Ventures is a venture capital firm of a new generation with a global mandate and a focus on early- to mid-stage fintech, consumer tech, and blockchain technology ventures.

Learn more: https://www.audeo.ventures/

About Media Asia Group Holdings Limited

Media Asia Group Holdings Limited ("Media Asia") together with its subsidiaries (the "Group") is one of the Asia leading entertainment groups with well-established business in Mainland China.  The principal activities of Media Asia include production and distribution of films and TV programs; organization, management and production of concerts and live performances; artiste management; music production and publishing; licensing of media contents; and provision of consultancy services in planning and management of cultural, entertainment and live performance projects.  Apart from its Hong Kong headquarters, the Group also maintains offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei and Seoul.

Learn more: https://www.mediaasia.com/

About Everest Ventures Group

Everest Ventures Group ("EVG") is a Web 3 focused venture studio with presence across five continents. Since 2018, it has incubated multiple technology infrastructures such as Kikitrade, Aspen Digital, Vibra Africa, LiveArtX, Cassava and BlockTempo to drive the mass adoption of digital assets. In addition, EVG is an early investor and advisor to 30+ blockchain projects globally, including renowned startups like Dapper Labs, Animoca Brands, Immutable, The Sandbox, Yuga Labs, Krake, Lukka, Upbit and more.

Learn more: https://www.evg.co/