Crypto Currency Startup BVNK The so-called ‘bee-vee-en-kay’ has closed its $ 40 million Srie A funding round of $ 340 million. Surprisingly, Tiger Global is in the news but is leading the round because they have experience. $ 17 billion loss This year’s technology sales season.
Other investors in today’s fundraising round include The Raba Partnership, Avenir, Kingsway Capital, Nordstar, Concentric, Base Capital and various business angels. BVNK signed the contract last month.
BVNK provides banking services and payments for crypto-native businesses. Companies using BVNK can accept payments in both Fiat and Crypto currencies, hold hundreds of different currencies and crypto assets, and send money around the world.
Prior to its launch, the BVNK team was working on a consumer platform. It was a more traditional crypto exchange with a focus on emerging markets and money transfer.
“We started the retail business and now it is a complete B2B business. Last year we spent the best talent in the crypto space. We now have 120 people in the company,” BVNK founder and CEO Jessie Hemson-Struthers told me.
Due to the existence of cryptocurrencies now Very bad week, Many businesses have begun to look at ways to support cryptocurrencies in one way or another. But it was a very difficult process because many banks around the world do not want to deal with crypto currencies easily.
“Financial services are not really made for crypto,” said George Davis, co-founder and chief product officer.
BVNK is targeting both Crypto Native and Crypto Gugu companies, for example, “payment companies that push for cryptoto,” Davis said.
The main hook for new customers is the bank. You can use BVNK to replace some of your traditional bank accounts. From your BVNK account you can buy, sell, send and receive encrypted currencies such as Euro, GBP and USD as well as BTC, ETH and USDC.
In addition, BVNK has built a payment service. Both are ways to collect payments in Crypto and for those who want to buy crypto assets on fiat-to-crypto on-ramp. Businesses using BVNK can use this API with their customers.
Fiat on-ramp is especially fun because BVNK wants to compete directly. MoonPay. If you are unfamiliar with MoonPay, it is a popular on-ramp API for other products. For example, many crypto wallets have included MoonPay in their apps so that users can purchase crypto assets with a debit card.
Thanks to an open bank, BVNK thinks it can build a cheaper alternative. Instead of relying on debit cards, BVNK requires people to enter information into their bank account and then start making quick payments. In this way, BVNK saves on card processing fees.
So far, BVNK has attracted about 120 customers. Hemson-Struthers told me, “We were as profitable as a business.” The company says it is currently paying more than $ 2 billion in annual payments.