WhiteBIT’s W Group Backs SwapGlobal’s Push Into Pre-IPO Derivatives

W Group, the ecosystem behind crypto exchange WhiteBIT, has invested in derivatives provider SwapGlobal. The October 23 announcement disclosed no deal value and said the company’s first pre-IPO transactions were being prepared. TL;DR: SwapGlobal is preparing institutional pre-IPO derivatives with backing from W Group. The planned exposure would convey a contractual payoff, without ownership of shares. WhiteBIT names Marcel Boekhoorn and Amsterdam’s Kenzoll Capital as fellow backers. Funding will add trading and working capital for the expansion beyond crypto. Foreign equities, computing power and digital assets are further ambitions. Exposure Without A Shareholding SwapGlobal says it would hedge institutional client positions and use qualified custodians for collateral. Hedge funds and asset managers are among the intended customers. The arrangement changes what a client is buying. A contractual payoff linked to a company’s value does not itself put the client on the company’s shareholder register. Voting rights, direct ownership and the ability to transfer actual shares cannot be assumed from a product described as pre-IPO exposure. It also gives the contractual terms particular i...