This week: LO:TECH raises $12M Series A led by MMC

LO:TECH raises $12M Series A led by MMC

The news: London-based capital markets firm LO:TECH has raised a $12M Series A led by MMC, with existing investors Faction and 13 Books Capital participating alongside Atka. The money will fund expansion into the US and Asia-Pacific, including New York and Singapore.

Zoom in: LO:TECH’s high-frequency trading infrastructure powers both its own liquidity provision and client services across traditional, digital, and prediction markets. It serves more than 50 institutional clients across designated market making, market data, and execution services, launching execution alongside the raise, and in July became a licensed distributor of Kalshi’s market data.

Why it matters: MMC partner Ollie Richards said in a press statement that the firm delivered “triple-digit revenue growth over the past year through exceptionally tough crypto market conditions.” LO:TECH plans to become regulated in the markets it enters and is exploring US licenses. It joins a run of trading-infrastructure deals around prediction markets, after market maker Raven took a strategic round from Coinbase Ventures and CMCC Global.

Sporttrade and STX win CFTC approval to run US sports prediction exchanges

The news: Sporttrade has been designated a contract market (DCM) by the CFTC, adding to the clearing organization (DCO) registration it received in October. Four days later, the CFTC designated XV Exchange, the US exchange of Chicago-based STX, which has run a regulated sports trading exchange in Ontario since 2023. Its clearing arm, XV Clearing, was registered as a DCO on Oct. 29.

Zoom in: The two approvals work differently. Sporttrade can take order flow through futures commission merchants (FCMs) and other intermediaries, and is onboarding brokers such as Fliff, pending regulatory approval. STX’s designation order bars FCMs from handling customer trades unless the CFTC amends it, so STX is courting builders instead, with an API and a Launch Partner Program for third-party prediction market apps.

Why it matters: Sporttrade announced in May that it would shut its state-licensed exchange to pursue federal registration, and both companies now have exchange and clearing infrastructure in place for a US launch. "Receiving our DCM and DCO registrations from the CFTC is a true full circle moment for our company," Sporttrade CEO Alexander Kane said in a press statement. Neither company has announced when US trading will start.

Quiz2Coin is building real-money quizzes for fans who would never touch a slot

The news: Quiz2Coin Managing Director Thomas Koller joined the BettingStartups Podcast to talk about its skill-based quiz game, where players answer questions on topics they care about and compete for cash. It started pre-COVID as a free-to-play quiz, and AI now lets the team generate fresh questions around the clock for daily $100 cash quizzes.

Zoom in: Quiz2Coin builds around fan bases—the NFL, Champions League soccer, Star Wars, the Oscars—which Koller thinks is why it can work where HQ Trivia didn’t. “A fan sticks around nearly a lifetime,” he said. Koller said the platform has roughly 100,000 registered players, mostly from Telegram, and keeps 25% to 30% of entry fees as a rake.

Why it matters: Koller sees Quiz2Coin as a knowledge-based way into real-money play for people who would never open a casino app. “You cannot get someone, for example, like me, to play slots,” he said. The company is raising $2M, has $1M in verbal commitments, and expects to close before year-end.

Listen to the full podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

• PureWager partnered with PLLAY to pair its player-account platform with AI that verifies skill-game and prediction results.

• Aries added ForecastEx prediction markets to its trading app, starting with election and economic contracts.

• Splash Sports’ Entry Marketplace passed $3 million in total resale volume, with $1 million coming in the last week.

• 🆕 Betr is hiring a Lead Brand Designer to shape how its real-money gaming Super App looks, sounds, and feels. Miami, FL (On-site). (View job)

• 🆕 Splash Sports is hiring a Lifecycle Marketing Manager to turn first-time depositors into habitual monthly players. United States - Remote. (View job)

• 🆕 BettingJobs is partnering with an ambitious crypto casino operator to appoint a Head of Acquisition to own player acquisition end to end. Remote Europe. (View job)

• Activating global fandoms through skill-based cash quizzes w/ Thomas Koller from Quiz2Coin

• Raising $7m to build "the Shopify for iGaming" w/ Val Makovetskii from Maincard

• Turnkey tech for the $4B digital pack-ripping market w/ Viktor Atanasovski from B2Bux

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