Kevin O’Leary-backed WonderFi to acquire Canadian crypto exchange Coinberry for $38.5M

WonderFi plans to expand its operations in Canada by acquiring digital asset trading platform Coinberry after its recent Bitbuy acquisition.

WonderFi Technologies, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, plans to continue its expansion in Canada by purchasing the Coinberry crypto exchange for $38 million. The platform will be the second regulated crypto exchange under WonderFi once the acquisition is finalized. 

The firm recently closed its acquisition of Bitbuy’s parent company First Ledger Corp. for $162 million. In an interview, Kevin O’Leary mentioned that there will be “several more and even bigger” acquisitions that are on the way. 

O’Leary also highlighted that the company is competing on the global stage while making sure that it’s on “a regulated basis.” The billionaire mentioned that the team is “not taking any risks” and are operating under regulated conditions. 

According to O’Leary, the customers of both platforms acquired will not see any instant changes. However, the Shark Tank star also noted that WonderFi plans to add features to each platform. 

With the acquisition of Coinberry, WonderFi will own two out of the six regulated exchanges in Canada. Bitbuy, WonderFi’s recent purchase became fully regulated after being licensed by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) in November 2021. On the other hand, Coinberry also registered in the OSC in August last year. 

Apart from the two exchanges, only four other platforms are registered for providing crypto trading. These include Wealthsimple, CoinSmart, Netcoins and Fidelity. 

Related: Mr. Wonderful plans to invest in mining company stocks

Kevin O’Leary, formerly a Bitcoin skeptic, mentioned last year that his crypto holdings have surpassed his gold portfolio. However, O’Leary also mentioned that gold and Bitcoin (BTC) comparisons are irrelevant as they are “two different asset classes.” 

In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, the businessman compared investing in BTC to investing in tech firms like Google and Microsoft. According to O’Leary, when people invest in these firms, they are “investing in software.” O’Leary believes that investing in crypto is similar.