The Block: Crypto-friendly investing app Revolut in talks to raise $500M for global expansion

Crypto-friendly investing app provider Revolut is in discussion with investors to raise $500 million in new funding for global expansion, including the U.S. and Japan.

“We want to raise at least $500 million in direct equity and potentially, maybe at a later stage, up to $1 billion in convertible (debt),” Revolut co-founder and CEO Nikolay Storonsky told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

Storonsky added that the firm has done “soft marketing” with investors and is continuing doing it, “so hopefully in the next several months, we’ll get it [fundraising] done.” The firm's current total funding to date is $336.9 million, according to Crunchbase.

U.K.-based Revolut is also on a hiring spree and plans to increase its headcount from current 1,800 to 5,000 by late next year, said Storonsky, adding: “Right now, I would say 60 percent of my time is just spent on hiring.”

Revolut, claiming to serve over 8 million customers, currently offers both cryptocurrency and stock trading services via its apps. The firm recently also partnered with payments giant Visa and Mastercard to launch debit cards in the U.S. and other markets.

Launched in 2015, Revolut is still a loss-making firm . It had a net loss of almost 33 million pounds (~$42 million) in 2018, while its revenue increased to 58 million pounds (~$74 million) from 13 million pounds (~$17 million) a year earlier.