Said Gutseriev has successfully sold his shares in Capital.com and Currency.com to Viktor Prokopenya, the founder of VP Capital, an investment company. In a separate transaction, FTX acquired Said Gutseriev’s share in Zubr.io.
The specific amounts involved in these transactions have not been disclosed by the involved parties.
As a result of the sale of Currency.com and Capital.com, the collaborative projects between Larnabel Ventures and VP Capital have come to an end, leading to a separation of the investors.
Transaction Background
In July 2017, Said Gutseriev, the founder of Larnabel Ventures, began investing in cryptocurrency and blockchain projects.
Capital.com, an AI-based trading business, received $12.5 million in investment from Gutseriev and Prokopenya in 2017. In 2019, the venture was transformed into Currency.com, the first legitimate cryptocurrency trading platform in the CIS, with legal entities in Gibraltar, Great Britain, and Belarus.
- Capital.com, an artificial intelligence-based fintech platform founded by technology entrepreneur Viktor Prokopenya in 2016, was the first project. Prokopenya and Gutseriev invested $25 million in the company on a parity basis in 2017.
- Said Gutseriev founded the Zubr.io cryptocurrency derivatives exchange in 2018, investing $4 million in it.
- In 2019, technology from Capital.com was used to launch Currency.com, Europe’s first regulated exchange-traded cryptocurrency trading platform. The project, developed and founded by Viktor Prokopenya’s team, had Said Gutseriev as a co-investor on a parity basis. According to reports, the businessmen invested $10 million in the project’s launch.
International Investor Involvement
These initiatives quickly attracted attention from international investors. When the opportunity to maximize profits from the sale presented itself, Said Gutseriev chose to exit the cryptocurrency business.
Negotiations with VP Capital to acquire Gutseriev’s shares of Capital.com and Currency.com began in 2020. Subsequent filings were made to regulatory bodies, including the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) and the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
It took nearly a year to complete the necessary regulatory processes, and the shares of Capital.com and Currency.com were sold to VP Capital in the summer of 2021.
In spring 2021, Gutseriev sold his stake in Zubr.io to the FTX international crypto exchange, which was seeking to acquire new companies with the significant funding it had raised.
By early 2021, Gutseriev began divesting his other holdings. Larnabel Ventures also sold its share in Banuba, initially co-partnered by VP Capital, to private sector investors. This marked the conclusion of the last joint project between Said Gutseriev and Viktor Prokopenya. With the sale of the crypto exchanges and the disposal of Banuba, there are no longer any active cooperative projects between Larnabel Ventures and VP Capital.
Investor Statements
“We appreciate VP Capital’s contribution to the growth of our joint projects,” says Eldar Vagapov, the managing partner of Larnabel Ventures. Currency.com and Capital.com stand as industry pioneers in regulated digital currency exchanges and investing software.
“We commend each of our company partners for several years of productive collaboration that have enabled us to solidify the top management positions of the companies we invest in while attaining remarkable outcomes,” says Viktor Prokopenya, founder and shareholder of Currency.com, Capital.com, and VP Capital.
Despite ending three of his initiatives, Gutseriev remains optimistic about the cryptocurrency sector and its potential, as indicated by a spokesperson. The spokesperson for VP Capital also stated the company’s plans to make strategic investments in cryptocurrency-related ventures in the future.
About the Companies
VP Capital is an international technology-focused investment company founded in 2012 and based in London. The company focuses on fintech, blockchain, and artificial intelligence.
Larnabel Ventures is an investment fund established in 2016, supporting investments in retail, gambling, finance, and consumer technology.
FTX is a cryptocurrency exchange that offers spot market, derivatives, and securities trading.
