London’s Aquis stock exchange is poised to welcome its first new member of 2023 tomorrow with the listing of crypto trading app Tap Global.
Pending shareholder approval for a reverse takeover by decentralised finance investor Quetzal today, the firm, which is regulated in Gibraltar, is set to raise £3.1 million in capital valuing it at £30 million when it joins the exchange.
Founded by 29-year-old former software developer Arsen Torosian and prepaid card business veteran Dave Carr, Tap allows users to trade digital currencies through connecting them with a number of crypto exchanges via its app, and offers its own Mastercard to pay for online shopping using Bitcoin.
Since its launch in 2018, Tap has grown to over 100,000 users and now has plans for international expansion to Australia and the USA.
The growth in users stands in stark contrast to a number of crypto exhanges, who have teetered on the brink of collapse in recent months after users withdrew funds and the price of Bitcoin fell some 54% in a year, sparking renewed fears over the volatility of digital currencies.
Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Torosian said he felt the rough time for the industry, which has become known as the “crypto winter”, would be around for some time yet: “I would like to say [it will end in] 2024 or 2025, but most likely we’re looking for a good three to four year winter again, but I hope I am wrong.”
But CEO Carr was optimistic about Tap’s future despite the headwinds facing crypto companies. He told the Standard: “The fact that the crypto market is in a little bit of turmoil isn’t necessarily a bad thing from our perspective, because the people that are in turmoil have had very light regulation.
“We’re going down the fully regulated route and our diligence process is strict…because we’re listed you’ll be able to see our balance sheet and what we’re doing with assets.”
