In a strategic move, South African cryptocurrency platforms Revix and BitFund have joined forces with Austria’s Coinpanion to create a new powerhouse in the alternative investment space — Altify.
In an official joint statement released on Friday, the companies announced the formation of Altify with a mission to empower individuals to grow their wealth beyond traditional stock market avenues. The newly formed Altify aims to democratize access to a diverse range of alternative investment opportunities, spanning private credit, venture capital, real estate, crypto assets, and collectibles.
Altify will build upon the strengths of Revix, Coinpanion, and BitFund, continuing to offer crypto investment products, including a wide range of ETF-style crypto bundles that were a hallmark of the individual platforms.
Sean Sanders, the founder and CEO of Revix, will assume the role of Altify CEO. The unified entity, now boasting over 80,000 clients, will be headquartered in London, with additional offices in Vienna and Cape Town.
Sanders expressed the overarching goal of Altify, stating, “Our aim is to position ourselves as the go-to alternative investment platform across South Africa and the broader Europe, Middle East, and Africa region.” He emphasized the mission to bridge the investment gap, particularly targeting investors aged 25–50, and enabling everyday South Africans to capitalize on a more extensive array of investment opportunities.
The recent crypto market downturn served as a catalyst for the merger, propelling Altify to expand beyond crypto-centric offerings. Sanders highlighted the prevailing market dynamics that have created ripe conditions for consolidation within retail investment platforms, especially in the crypto space. Altify is actively exploring opportunities to collaborate with investment platforms in the UAE, UK, and Europe in the coming months.
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Disclosing a collective deposit figure exceeding US$250 million, the companies underscored strong support from shareholders, including notable entities such as Johannesburg-listed specialist investment group Sabvest, CVVC, Founders Factory, Emurgo, High-Tech Gründerfonds, and Calm/Storm Ventures. Angel investors, including MySugr Founder Frank Westermann and business angel ‘Hansi’ Hansmann, further backed the transaction, solidifying Altify’s foundation for future growth and success.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard