Big Grab For Reku With US$11m Led By AC Ventures
JAKARTA, THURSDAY, 15 SEP 2022 – Earlier today, Indonesia-based crypto exchange and marketplace Reku (formerly Rekeningku.com) secured an US$11 million series A funding round, led by AC Ventures (ACV), with participation from Coinbase Ventures and Skystar Capital.
The five-year-old startup, which offers its users the lowest fees in the Indonesian market, will use the fresh capital to add more than 50 team members to its current headcount of 80. It will also roll out new offerings to address the biggest pain points of Indonesia’s crypto investors, for both experienced traders and first-timers alike.
Despite this round being its first institutional fundraising, Reku generated US$3 billion in gross transaction value in 2021. The platform was built fully in-house, has been refined over the last five years with maximum security and compliance in mind, and has grown almost exclusively from word-of-mouth. The exchange only provides reputable tokens to its users, meaning tokens must be highly credible and have sufficient liquidity, in order to provide an extra layer of safety to users on Reku.
Because Reku has been on the scene in Indonesia for several years already, the founding team has benefitted from experiencing economic expansions and recessions. It has been able to observe how Indonesia’s crypto users behave both during times of bullish exuberance and bearish reservation. Witnessing these cycles has allowed Reku to build a battle-tested platform that can rapidly scale and endure any market sentiment.
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).
Reku and Crypto Surge
Before launching Reku, Co-founder and CEO Sumardi Fung, alongside Chief Compliance Officer Robby, worked in the futures trading sector from 2005 until 2017.
Meanwhile, tech veteran Jesse Choi has recently joined the company’s leadership team as COO. A graduate of Columbia University, he 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, and earned an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business before joining Reku.
Sumardi explained, “It’s no secret that crypto has been surging in Indonesia in recent years. Despite multiple macroeconomic pullbacks such as the pandemic and the 2022 recession, local demand remains resilient. That said, there are still many problems faced by the country’s crypto users. Even today, crypto is a complicated asset class to understand. To get into it, 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.”
“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.”
Jesse added, “Reku is a very exciting company in a space I’m passionate and knowledgeable about. The existing founders and I are strong complements, and together we are fully aligned on where this company needs to go. Sumardi and the team really understand all the mechanics of running an exchange – they’ve done a wonderful job setting up the tech and building the fastest, most efficient, and most flexible product in the market to date. As we expand the team, build new products, ramp up marketing, and take the company to the next level, that’s where I come in.”
ACV Founder and Managing Partner Michael Soerijadji said, “We are excited to lead this investment into Reku. With an intuitive user experience, the lowest fees in the market, and a great leadership team, we are confident Reku will solidify its leadership in Indonesia’s vibrant crypto industry.”