According to the country’s Commodity Futures Trading Agency, cryptocurrency transactions in Indonesia reached $60 billion last year. Crypto exchange and marketplace Reku is riding the wave with what it says are the lowest fees on the market and a platform that targets both newbies and experienced traders. Today, the startup, founded in 2017, announced that it has raised $11 million in Series A funding led by AC Ventures (ACV) with participation from Coinbase Ventures and Skystar Capital.
This is the first round of venture funding for Reku (formerly Rekeningku.com). The company generated $3 billion in gross trading value in 2021 and is profitable. Reku’s five years in business means they know how to scale and withstand market volatility, including this year’s pandemic and recession, its founders say.
Reku, which currently has 80 employees, plans to add another 50 positions with the funding. The platform will continue to focus on security, compliance, efficiency and scalability, said Sumardi Fang, co-founder and CEO. Reko recently appointed Jesse Choi, a former private equity investor at Bain Capital, as COO.
Fang said the company sees a significant gap in the market for products that actively guide users from the very beginning of their crypto journey until they become experts themselves. Education is one thing, but our vision is to create products that seamlessly guide all users to smart investing.
With educational features, Reku makes its platform accessible to first-time traders. It complies with the Indonesian Commodity Futures Trading Agency (BAPPEBTI) and emphasizes user safety by offering only valid cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Prior to founding Reku, Fang worked in futures for 12 years.
“In 2017 and 2018, crypto wasn’t that big, but we saw a huge opportunity there. “The internet’s penetration has spread so quickly, then it’s leading to a more resourceful society where people are looking for simplicity like a global currency,” Fund told TechCrunch. The logic behind blockchain has always made sense to me and we can definitely see a future where people demand a more transparent financial system.
Choi added that Indonesian traders initially saw cryptocurrencies as a way to make money, but are more interested in other uses of blockchain. “An example of this is NFTs,” he said. “Relatively speaking, a huge amount of construction activity is coming out of Indonesia, not just projects, but infrastructure and tools that go to the global market. And indeed, Indonesia is one of the leading countries in the adoption of crypto and Web 3.
“We are excited to make this investment in Reku,” ACV founder and managing partner Michael Surijaji said in a statement. With an intuitive user experience, the lowest cost in the market, and an excellent leadership team, we are confident that Reku will solidify its leadership in Indonesia’s vibrant crypto industry.