Young Platform, the Italian fintech scale-up created to simplify access to the world of cryptocurrencies for its users, continues on its financial growth path with a new €2.65 million operation led by Azimut, an independent global group in asset management, wealth management, investment banking and fintech, which intervened through investment vehicles dedicated to professional clients.
A leading crypto platform in Italy in terms of the range of crypto services it offers and the size of its community, which counts more than 2 million registered users, Young Platform thus sees its trust confirmed by Azimut, already one of its largest investors, in order to promote further collaboration for the development of new products and services for the public.
The new capital injection was made ‘on top’ of the previous investment in Young Platform made in June 2022, which saw Azimut lead a venture (with €11M) in a total round of €16M. A few months later, Young Platform completed its growth path in I3P, the Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino, and was elected ‘I3P Start-up of the Year’ 2022 by virtue of its achievements after three years of incubation.
Today, Nicolas Bertrand, a senior executive with 20 years' experience at Borsa Italiana and London Stock Exchange, and former member of the Advisory Board of Young Platform, joins the team and the Board of Directors as the company's new chairman.
This change in leadership is not the only novelty on the management front of Italy's leading cryptocurrency exchange: Alexandru Stefan Gheban, one of the six founders as well as CFO, becomes CEO with Andrea Ferrero, Co-CEO of the company, at his side.
"From 2018 to date, each funding round has progressively strengthened Young Platform's operational capabilities and market presence, paving the way for continuous innovation and expansion," recalled Andrea Ferrero, Co-Ceo and co-founder of the exchange. "With this new €2.5 million transaction we are delighted to obtain the renewed trust of an important partner such as Azimut, in view of increasingly significant product and service evolutions that will lead Young Platform to build the first 3.0 banking platform: a borderless banking platform that perfectly merges TradFi and Web3, integrating traditional banking services with the innovative functionalities of DeFi, making global banking cheaper, faster and easier."
It is also because of this objective that Young Platform has always made regulatory compliance a cornerstone. The platform is duly registered with the OAM (Organisme Agents et Mediateurs de Crédit) and has received authorisation from the French financial regulator, the AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers). It has established an in-house Anti-Money Laundering (AML) department and is proactively adapting operations and policies to comply with future regulations set by the European Union's Crypto-Assets Markets framework.
"We have always operated with strict compliance with Italian and European regulatory frameworks, ensuring a safe and transparent environment for our users," Ferrero commented. "True innovation stems from responsibility, which is why we have welcomed the Italian government's legislative decree that has entrusted regulatory and supervisory powers to Consob and the Bank of Italy, establishing criminal and administrative sanctions for those who abuse the crypto market and violate EU rules. Young Platform has always worked side by side with regulators, institutions and traditional finance to advance the vision of a freer, but also safer and more regulated world that allows the integration of innovative solutions for greater autonomy and financial democracy of citizens and to open a new course for the Italian economy and beyond."
Giorgio Medda, CEO of Azimut Holding, commented: "The investment in Young Platform is fully in line with our venture capital activities aimed at selecting the best innovative projects in emerging trends. The cryptocurrency landscape is constantly evolving and although it is not yet directly accessible to all investors, it is still essential to approach it with expertise, critical spirit and seriousness. These qualities distinguish Young Platform's exchange and we are confident that the team, combining technology and vision, will be able to develop new innovative products and services that will positively influence the financial industry."
