SG private investment platform Fundnel acquires Hg Exchange, rebrands to Alta

Fundnel, a Singapore-based marketplace for alternative assets, has acquired local blockchain-based securities firm Hg Exchange (HGX). Fundnel has also recently rebranded into Alta.

Alta co-founder Kelvin Lee / Photo credit: Alta

In a statement, Alta said that the acquisition will support tokenization and digital custody of alternative assets, making it cheaper and faster to trade.

After the deal, HGX will become a subsidiary of Alta and will rebrand as Alta Exchange. HGX’s current CEO, Willie Chang, will lead Alta Exchange along with his existing team, which is set to merge with Alta’s workforce.

Founded in 2016, Alta enables users to invest and trade in alternative assets, including early- and late-stage startups, private equity and venture capital funds, asset-backed securities of luxury assets, and real estate.

Since its establishment, the marketplace has completed more than 1,000 transactions – including those for SpaceX, Grab, and Gojek – worth US$600 million.

With the acquisition, Alta currently provides private market investment, trading of tokenized asset-backed securities, and access to funds that are managed by the firm.

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Meanwhile, HGX is a private digital securities exchange founded in 2019. Late last year, it secured a strategic investment from crypto giant Binance, which took an 18% stake in the Singapore-based firm.