- A DeFi Platform, WonderFi Technologies Inc, will be purchasing Bitbuy, a Canadian crypto exchange, Bitbuy for a total of £206 million ($161.8 million) including cash and shares.
- WonderFi Technologies is one of the fastest-growing crypto platforms with a current user base of around 375,000 registered members. The combination will allow it to provide customers with an integrated system for investing and buying in crypto since it aims to become an end-to-end consumer platform.
- Under stock ticker WNDR on Canada’s NEO Exchange, WonderFi Technologies is listed publicly. Its share climbed as much as 13% in early trading, making the company reach a market cap of about C$188 million ($148 million).
WonderFi Technologies Inc., a decentralized finance (DeFi) network, agreed to purchase Canadian crypto exchange Bitbuy for Approximately £206 million ($161.8 million) in cash and shares, putting the ability to buy crypto and access to DeFi underneath one roof.
WonderFi said in a statement on Tuesday that it will pay with 70 million new shares and C$50 million ($39 million) in cash.
WonderFi has now 375,000 registered users, making it one of Canada’s fastest-growing crypto platforms. As it strives to become an end-to-end consumer platform, the combination will enable it to give retail customers an integrated solution for buying and investing in crypto.
According to WonderFi CEO Ben Samaroo, a licensed marketplace serves as an essential portal to the digital asset economy and supports a solid end-to-end, unified customer experience.
In June, WonderFi, based in Vancouver, closed a financing round that included Kevin O’Leary as a strategic investor. In a tribute to O’Leary’s nickname “Mr. Wonderful” from the television shows “Shark Tank” and “Dragon’s Den,” the company changed its name to WonderFi from Defi Ventures. According to WonderFi’s latest presentation, the millionaire creator of crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, is a strategic investor.
In recent months, O’Leary has been a supporter of crypto and also said that his largest position is in ether, Ethereum blockchain token, in a 2022 outlook. He also added that in addition to Bitcoin, he also was Polygon (MATIC) and Solana.
WonderFi is listed on the NEO Exchange in Canada under the symbol WNDR. In early trading, the stock rose as much as 13%, giving the business a market cap of around C$188 million ($148 million).
Bobby Halpern, the founder of Halpern & Co. in Toronto, bought Bitbuy in early 2018 when the exchange had roughly 500 customers and bitcoin values were decreasing. According to the statement, the company made more than C$31 million ($24 million) in revenue in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30.
Dean Skurka, Bitbuy’s president and chief financial officer, is expected to join WonderFi’s board of directors after the deal closes in the first quarter. In December, WonderFi said that it had made a strategic investment in Bitbuy’s parent business, First Ledger Corp.
WonderFi’s board of directors received a fair judgment on the purchase from investment bank Haywood Securities, while Bitbuy’s financial counsel is Canaccord Genuity.