Heaptalk, Jakarta — Reku, Indonesia-based crypto exchange and marketplace, announced has secured US$11 million series A funding. This round was led by AC Ventures, followed by Coinbase Ventures and Skystar Capital.
Grab this new investment, the five-year-old startup will strengthen its human capital aspect by adding over 50 team members to its current headcount of 80. In addition to offering the lowest fees in the Indonesian market, the startup which formerly known as Rekeningku.com will provide new offerings to tackle the pain points of Indonesia’s crypto investors, for both experienced traders and first-timers alike.
Before earning its first institutional fundraising, Reku has served more than 15 million registered crypto users and generated US$3 billion in gross transaction value in 2021. To successfully hit this huge transaction, the platform that solely was built fully in-house offers maximum security and compliance in mind that is performed by only providing reputable tokens for crypto transaction – tokens that have high credibility and sufficient liquidity.
Co-founder and CEO of Reku, Sumardi Fung, stated, “To get into it (crypto world), Indonesians must have sufficient guidance and trust in the platforms they use on a foundational level. We aim to help them achieve this with Reku, and offer them the most protection possible before letting them buy and sell cheaply and safely on the platform.”
Reku’s founding team hails from the futures trading industry and has more than 15 years of experience dealing with complex financial instruments. The startup’s co-founders also come with intimate knowledge of – and pre-existing professional relationships within – Indonesia’s Commodities and Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (BAPPEBTI). Before launching Reku, Co-founder and CEO Sumardi Fung, alongside Chief Compliance Officer Robby, worked in the futures trading sector from 2005 until 2017.
“Compliance with BAPPEBTI and user safety is baked into every single feature and experience on Reku,” said Robby. “The philosophy of Reku is one of maximum user safety and friendliness. We maintain a completely fair and transparent marketplace, which is not always the case on other platforms. Because the crypto sector is still unfolding here, we believe it’s important that consumers are protected to the same degree that they are in more developed sectors and markets.”
As additional information, Jesse Choi, the husband of Indonesia’s stellar artist, Maudy Ayunda, recently comes on board as the new Reku’s Chief Operating Officer (COO). Perceiving his background, tech veteran Jesse Choi is an alumnus of Colombia University and Stanford Graduate School. Choi also is a former consultant at Bain& Company and held a senior marketing role at Thumbtack before becoming a private equity investor at Bain Capital. From there, Jesse had professional stints at Playground Capital, Payfazz, AC Ventures.
