Crypto Asset Merchant Startup “Reku” Receives Series A Funding Of 163 Billion Rupiah Led by AC Ventures

Crypto asset trader startup Reku, rebrand from My Account, announced a series A funding of $11 million (over 163 billion Rupiah) led by AC Ventures, with participation from Coinbase Ventures and Skystar Capital.

Reku will leverage fresh funds to expand the team to 80 people, launching new innovations to address crypto investors' biggest problems, either trader experienced and novice.

In an official statement, Co-founder & CEO Sumardi Fung said, in the middle crypto winter this local demand remains strong. There are still many problems that users face, even as this cryptocurrency is a complex asset class to understand. To get into it, Indonesians need to have sufficient guidance and trust in the platform they are using at a basic level.

“We aim to help them achieve that with Reku and offer them the maximum possible protection before letting them buy and sell cheaply and securely on the platform. Compliance with BAPPEBTI and user security are incorporated into every feature and user experience at Reku," said Sumardi, Thursday (15/9).

AC Ventures Founder and Managing Partner Michael Soerijadji also commented. He said, “We are excited to lead this investment into Reku. With an intuitive user experience, lowest fees in the market, and a great leadership team, we believe Reku will strengthen its leadership in Indonesia's dynamic cryptocurrency industry.”

Reku's Journey

At the same time, the company also announced the joining of Jesse Choi as COO. Choi is a Columbia University graduate with extensive experience in technology companies, such as Bain & Company, Thumbtack, Playground Capital, Payfazz, AC Ventures (Entrepreneur-in-Residence), and earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, before officially joining Reku. .

Choi shared, “Reku is a very interesting company in a space that he is interested in and knows about. According to him, Sumardi and the team really understand all the mechanics of running the exchange -- they've done a great job setting up the technology and building the fastest, most efficient and most flexible product on the market to date. As we expand the team, build new products, improve marketing and take the company to the next level, that's where I come in.”

River The team itself has actually been established since five years ago, the team claims to have benefited from the experience surrounding economic expansion and recession. Then, get an idea of ​​how crypto investors behave in Indonesia, both during bullish and bearish times. This experience has allowed Sumardi and his team to build a proven platform that can quickly scale and withstand any market sentiment.

The Reku team itself comes from the futures trading industry and has more than 15 years of experience handling complex financial instruments. Before starting Reku, Sumardi, together with CCO Robby, worked in futures trading from 2005 to 2017.

Sumardi said the Reku platform was built completely independently in-house and continues to be refined from time to time taking into account maximum security and conditions. According to him, Reku's philosophy is maximum security and user-friendliness while maintaining a completely fair and transparent marketplace, which is not always the case on other platforms.

“As the cryptocurrency sector is still ongoing here, we believe it is important for consumers to receive the same level of protection as they are in more advanced sectors and markets.”

Reku offers the lowest cost to users. It is claimed, the company has scored a gross transaction value of $3 billion in 2021.

landscape crypto exchange in Indonesia

With high volatility, crypto assets actually have great interest in Indonesia. CoFTRA data shows that as of June 2022, the number of crypto investors reached 15,1 million people with a transaction value of IDR 212 trillion.

However, in the midst of the rapid development of the crypto investment industry, CoFTRA announced last month termination of issuance of registration permits prospective physical traders of crypto assets, as stated in Circular Letter Number 208/BAPPEBTI/SE/08/2022. The reason is related to the effectiveness of supervision.

So far, it has granted licenses to 24 companies, including Reku. Here's the list: