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During Tech in Asia’s recent offsite in Bali, about 20 of us went on a sunrise hike up Mount Batur. It was my second time doing the climb, but that didn’t make it any less challenging. Whether it was going up or down, there were no shortcuts – steep, slippery slopes meant I had to be careful with every step I took.
It might’ve been a similar conservative approach that has enabled Cake DeFi, a Singapore-based crypto savings and lending app, to sit pretty in profitability as the rest of the crypto scene appears to be melting down.
Today we look at:
- The crypto startup that has kept warm amid a tech winter
- The US$20 million series A round of a Philippine ecommerce firm
- Other newsy highlights such as the first funding round of an Indonesian document and contract lifecycle management startup and the imminent US$100 million series D of an Indian lending firm
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Zigging while others zag
Image credit: Timmy Loen
I’ve always hated the concept of “hype.” More often than not, the end product doesn’t live up to the noise, and even on the rare occasions it does what it promises, we’re not wowed anymore.
Speak softly and carry a big stick, or so the saying goes. Let the results speak for themselves. That appears to be how Cake DeFi is going about its business.
- Hand over fist: Cake DeFi has reached over US$65 million in quarterly revenue within two years, which could easily put it in unicorn territory.
- How the turntables: The company has achieved all this without raising venture capital money. Instead, it has launched a US$100 million VC arm.
- Transparent and conservative: Unlike major crypto lender Celsius – which has run into troubles and frozen withdrawals – Cake DeFi clearly communicates how the yields are generated, whether it’s through staking, lending, or liquidity farming.
Read more: How this rarest of crypto startups is shrugging off winter
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