This Silicon Valley crypto startup, founded by a Brisbane entrepreneur, is now worth $2 billion

Aussie-founded crypto startup CoinList has raised a whopping US$100 million ($138.3 million) in Series A funding, giving it a valuation of US$1.5 billion ($2.1 billion).

Headed up by co-founder and chief executive Graham Jenkin, a Brisbane-born entrepreneur now based in San Francisco, CoinList is a cryptocurrency exchange allowing users to buy, earn and trade crypto.

But it also serves as a platform for blockchain companies to launch and run their own token sales and initial coin offerings (ICOs), connecting businesses with potential investors.

Having cut his teeth creating websites for the Australian Democrats, Jenkin was previously chief operating officer at startup jobs site AngelList, and worked as user experience design lead for Google between 2006 and 2014, where he designed products including Google Analytics, AdWords and Google Wallet.

Jenkin co-founded CoinList in 2017, in a bid to accelerate and advance mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies.

In a LinkedIn post announcing the raise and thanking those who helped the business hit the milestone, Jenkin called this “the most impactful mission in crypto”.

The latest raise follows 12 months of exponential global growth in both user numbers and revenue.

The number of monthly active users has increased from fewer than 250,000 in 2020 to just shy of 3.5 million in 2021.

CoinList now has users in more than 170 countries, with a monthly trading volume of about $1 billion.

The round is led by Chicago-based investment firm Agman and Boston-based Accomplice — an early CoinList backer.

A range of other funds and individuals also contributed. They include partners and active CoinList users from all over the world, including Asia, Europe and the Middle East, all high-growth regions for the business.

It follows a 2019 raise of US$10 million ($13.8 million), led by Twitter and Square founder Jack Dorsey.

The latest funding will be used to scale services and operations, and to launch a range of new products, a blog from CoinList says.

Crypto has also been hitting the headlines closer to home. Just this week, politicians and tech leaders alike have disputed claims from a Reserve Bank of Australia spokesperson that cryptocurrencies are a ‘fad’.

We have also seen Commonwealth Bank launching its crypto-trading offering, while Crypto.com has launched its Visa card locally.

Share trading and superannuation startup Superhero is also eyeing up a move into the crypto sector.

Even a fish and chip shop in Yeppoon, Queensland, has started accepting cryptocurrency, with owner Clint Horsfall saying he anticipates more small businesses will follow suit.