French crypto firm Flowdesk doubles staff and expands overseas
(Bloomberg) – Flowdesk, a French cryptocurrency trading technology company backed by Ledger and Coinbase Ventures, plans to more than double its workforce and expand overseas, even as the broader digital asset sector is buoyed by the sell-off in March faltered last year.
The company aims to grow its team from 60 to 140 by the end of March, with employees spread across offices in Paris, Singapore and a forthcoming office in New York, Flowdesk co-founder and chief executive officer Guilhem Chaumont said in a Interview.
Flowdesk will be hiring to fill roles in business development, commercial, operations, and legal and compliance.
The Paris-based startup develops software that enables companies such as investment firms to trade cryptocurrencies across multiple exchanges. It also offers brokerage, custody and treasury management services to clients including issuers of digital assets.
Flowdesk’s expansion plans come along with many other cryptocurrency companies reducing their headcount and closing some of their global operations. Coinbase Global Inc., Matrixport and Crypto.com are among the companies that have announced layoffs since early 2023.
The sector has been suffering from a slump in cryptocurrency prices that has sparked a spate of business failures, including the recent bankruptcies of exchange FTX and crypto lender Genesis.
While Bitcoin is up 39% in January and the largest token is currently trading around $23,000, volumes have remained anemic, suggesting that investor confidence has yet to fully recover.
Flowdesk, whose monthly Spot Market trading volume ranges from $1 billion to $10 billion, is applying for licenses from regulators in various regions to expand its global footprint. It has applied for a digital payment token license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which would allow the company to offer crypto trading in the city-state.
It is currently registered with the French Financial Markets Authority AMF.
In June, Flowdesk raised $30 million in a funding round led by Eurazeo and Aglaé Ventures. Ledger, Coinbase Ventures and Sorare also participated.
–Assisted by Suvashree Ghosh and Joanna Ossinger.
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