ADVFN UK Market News

Tag: Investment

  • Hamak Gold Dives into Digital Assets with £1.77M Bitcoin Purchase and Archax Partnership

    Hamak Gold Dives into Digital Assets with £1.77M Bitcoin Purchase and Archax Partnership

    In a bold pivot toward digital finance, Hamak Gold Limited (LSE: HAMA) has announced the acquisition of 20 Bitcoin, marking its first investment in digital assets. The move, valued at £1.77 million, is part of a broader treasury strategy aimed at diversifying the company’s balance sheet and enhancing shareholder value.

    The Bitcoin purchase, made at an average price of £88,569 per coin, signals a strategic shift for the junior gold exploration company, which is primarily focused on African mining projects. Hamak Gold is now positioning itself as a hybrid player in the resource sector—combining traditional gold assets with the disruptive potential of digital currencies.

    Strategic Alliance with Archax

    To support this new direction, Hamak Gold has entered into a partnership with Archax, the UK’s first FCA-regulated digital asset exchange, broker, and custodian. Archax will provide secure custody and trading infrastructure for Hamak’s Bitcoin holdings, ensuring regulatory compliance and institutional-grade asset management.

    “We are pleased to be delivering on the initial plan we announced to the market just a few weeks ago,” said Nick Thurlow, Executive Chairman of Hamak Gold. “We’re excited to partner with Archax, the premier UK-regulated crypto trading and custody firm.”

    Archax CEO Graham Rodford welcomed the collaboration, noting the complementary nature of Bitcoin and gold as stores of value. “Bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million units is often cited as a distinguishing feature by market participants seeking alternatives to inflation-prone fiat currencies—complementing gold’s long-standing role,” he said.

    A New Model for Junior Miners?

    Hamak Gold’s dual-asset strategy is a rare move in the junior mining space, where companies typically focus on physical commodities. By integrating Bitcoin into its treasury, the company aims to create a low-correlation hedge against traditional equity market cycles, while tapping into long-term digital asset trends.

    The initiative is part of a broader treasury framework that includes strategic reserves, liquidity tools, and non-dilutive value protection mechanisms. The company also hinted at upcoming high-level appointments to bolster its digital asset expertise.

    About the Companies

    Hamak Gold Limited is a UK-listed gold exploration firm with operations in Africa. Through its listing on the London Stock Exchange, it offers investors exposure to both traditional mining and digital asset strategies.

    Archax, based in London, is a fully regulated digital asset platform catering to institutional investors. It offers services across the digital asset lifecycle—from token issuance and fundraising to trading and custody.

  • Fiscal.ai Raises $10M in Series A Funding to Revolutionize Financial Data Access

    Fiscal.ai Raises $10M in Series A Funding to Revolutionize Financial Data Access

    London, UK — June 30, 2025 — Fiscal.ai, formerly known as FinChat, has announced the successful completion of a $10 million Series A funding round, marking a major milestone in its mission to transform how financial data is accessed and utilized across the fintech landscape.

    The round was led by Portage Ventures, with additional backing from Social Leverage and strategic investor VanEck, bringing the company’s total funding to $13 million. Fiscal.ai plans to use the capital to expand its product offerings, scale its infrastructure, and accelerate hiring across key departments.

    Founded by Braden Dennis (CEO), Ryan White (CTO), Kevin Bojan (CPO), and Adrian Iwanicki (COO), Fiscal.ai began as a conversational interface for financial data. The company has since evolved into a full-fledged data infrastructure provider, offering a developer-friendly API, a powerful terminal, and a suite of tools designed to make financial data more searchable, explainable, and actionable.

    With over 350,000 registered users and partnerships with leading fintech platforms, Fiscal.ai is positioning itself as a foundational layer for financial decision-making in the AI era. The company’s upcoming Enterprise product, expected within 30 days, aims to further enhance its capabilities for institutional clients.

    CEO Braden Dennis emphasized the company’s broader vision: “We are completely rebuilding how investors get the information they require and interact with it day to day,” he said. “Our team is committed to building beautiful, powerful products — fast”.

    The rebrand to Fiscal.ai reflects the company’s strategic shift toward serving both professional and self-directed investors, with plans to expand beyond equities into global asset classes.

    For more details, please visit Fiscal.ai’s official announcement.

  • German Fintech NaroIQ Secures $6.5M to Build a European Alternative to US ETF Dominance

    German Fintech NaroIQ Secures $6.5M to Build a European Alternative to US ETF Dominance

    Cologne-based fintech startup NaroIQ has successfully raised $6.5 million in seed funding, marking a significant step in its mission to reshape the European fund infrastructure landscape. The funding round was led by Berlin-based venture capital firm Magnetic, known for its focus on critical infrastructure investments, with participation from Redstone and existing backer General Catalyst, which increased its stake in the company.

    Founded in 2022 by Chris Püllen and Nils Krauthausen, NaroIQ is developing a digital platform designed to streamline the creation and management of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds. The company’s core proposition is to empower smaller fund providers with the tools to compete against industry giants by reducing the cost and complexity of launching and operating funds.

    “We are witnessing a once-in-a-generation shift: ETFs will replace mutual funds in the retail market over the next decade, which means that margins will shrink significantly,” said Püllen, co-founder and CEO of NaroIQ.

    Addressing Europe’s Infrastructure Gap

    The European fund market, which manages approximately €22.9 trillion in assets, is still heavily reliant on outdated systems. According to a recent Ernst & Young report, the digitalization of fund servicing in Europe scores just 1.6 out of 5, highlighting a critical need for modernization. Despite an 8.8% growth in assets under management over the past five years, profits have only increased by 0.7%, underscoring the pressure on margins and the inefficiencies in the current system.

    NaroIQ’s platform leverages API-first architecture and cloud-native technology to automate fund operations that are traditionally manual and fragmented. This approach not only reduces operational costs but also accelerates time-to-market for new products, offering a lifeline to smaller players in a market increasingly dominated by a handful of large firms.

    Challenging US Market Control

    Currently, US-based firms manage two-thirds of European ETFs and handle administrative tasks for four-fifths of them. The top five ETF providers control 75% of the market share, raising concerns about concentration of power and lack of financial sovereignty in Europe.

    NaroIQ aims to counter this imbalance by offering a European-built alternative that supports local fund providers. The startup’s infrastructure is designed to lower barriers to entry, enabling a more diverse and competitive ecosystem.

    “With foundational financial services still reliant on manual, fragmented back-end processes, NaroIQ’s digital infrastructure is critical to unlocking efficiency, real-time transparency, and cost savings,” said David Rosskamp, founding partner at Magnetic.

    Strategic Vision and Next Steps

    The newly secured funding will be used to expand NaroIQ’s technical capabilities, pursue regulatory licensing, and launch its first partner integrations later this year. The company’s long-term vision is to establish a resilient, sovereign European fund infrastructure that levels the playing field for smaller asset managers and promotes innovation across the industry.

    While the road ahead includes navigating complex regulations and entrenched industry relationships, investor confidence suggests that NaroIQ is well-positioned to become a key player in Europe’s evolving financial landscape.