WonderFi, a crypto ecosystem backed by Kevin O’Leary, plans to acquire Toronto-based crypto exchange Coinberry. The acquisition is valued to be around $38.5 million. It is the second purchase in less than a month.
If the deal closes, it will place two out of six registered crypto exchanges under the same management.
Kevin O’Leary’s second exchange acquisition in a month
The announcement of the acquisition was made by theglobeandmail. WonderFi acquired Toronto-based crypto exchange Bitbuy less than a month ago for $206 million in cash and shares.
The second acquisition will mark a more significant step toward the nationwide growth of digital assets and the blockchain sector.
Kevin O’Leary, who backs WonderFi, said in an interview that “several more and even bigger” acquisitions are to come. If the acquisition occurs, it will pump WonderFi to 160 staff and over 750,000 customers.
“We’re definitely setting ourselves up to go toe to toe on the global stage,” adding that the acquisition will put the company in a better position to compete with large foreign exchanges such as Coinbase, Crypto.com, FTX and Binance.
Kevin O’Leary
He also added that they are doing it on a regulated basis, unlike the other players. He noted that they are not going to take any risks on that.
In early 2021, the Canadian Securities Administrators, a federation of provincial and territorial securities regulators, released guidance on regulating cryptocurrency exchanges. Since then, analogous legislation has been patched together across the country.
Despite several provincial and territorial markets being uncontrolled, many foreign crypto enterprises have continued to operate in the country.
Kevin was an early skeptic of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. But Kevin has turned to be a firm believer as he predicts that one-day blockchain and crypto will represent the 12th sector of the S&P 500. He also added that his crypto portfolio has taken over his gold portfolio.