AppWorks joins Taiwanese blockchain fintech startup’s $17m pre-series A round

Taiwan-based tradetech startup XREX announced that it has closed its US$17 million pre-series A round of funding, which it says was oversubscribed by 200%.

A consortium of publicly-listed companies, banks, venture capital firms, and fintech investors from the US, Canada, Germany, Estonia, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan participated in the funding round.

These include a mix of existing and new investors such as CDIB – the VC and PE arm of Taiwan’s largest financial services group CDF, SBI Holdings, Rocket Internet, E Sun Financial Holding, ThreeD Capital, Systex, BlackMarble, AppWorks, Global Founders Capital, and others.

XREX cofounders Wayne Huang (right) and Winston Hsiao/ Photo credit: XREX

The funding will be used to expand XREX’s global footprint, acquire additional licenses, hire new talents, and forge strategic partnerships with financial institutions in key emerging markets such as India, Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.

The company also appointed former executive director at Standard Chartered Bank Christopher Chye as managing director of XREX Singapore and director of product of XREX. Before joining Standard Chartered, Chye was a management consultant with KPMG.

Founded in 2019, XREX is a crypto-related fintech company with the mission of driving financial inclusion in emerging markets by leveraging blockchain technology. The startup has created tools such as BitCheck and MyXchange that have helped merchants in emerging markets to cross over from informal to formal economy.

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“XREX products are solving the dollar liquidity issues faced by cross-border merchants, particularly those in emerging countries,” said XREX CEO and co-founder Wayne Huang.