Bitwala raises €15 million in funding

The bitcoin-banking platform Bitwala has closed a €15 million funding round, according to Gründerszene.

Exclusive: 15 million euros for Berlin-based crypto bank Bitwala https://t.co/nYugNVkXvZ pic.twitter.com/MG0cgagUxC

— Gründerszene (@gruenderszene) November 28, 2020

The funding round was led by German venture firm Earlybird, with Coparion and Global Brain also participating.

The raised funds will be used to increase the user base and launch new products. One of them will be a service for regular cryptocurrency purchases, the company’s product manager Kristina Walcker-Mayer said.

The Berlin-based startup counts 150,000 clients who reside in 32 countries and own bitcoins worth a total of €60 million.

Founded in 2015, Bitwala began as a platform for exchanging cryptocurrencies. In 2018 the company reoriented its business, launching a service offering a single bank account with Bitcoin and fiat support. In September 2019 its functions were expanded with the integration of a wallet for digital currency, whose private keys are controlled by the users themselves.

For details on the challenges the company faced in building the new platform and how it differs from other fintech apps, read the exclusive interview with Bitwala CTO Ben Jones in ForkLog magazine.

Bitwala CTO explains when Bitcoin-enabled banking will be available in Russia and Ukraine

In 2019, Sony’s venture arm led a €13 million Series A round for Bitwala.

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