Bitwala, Europe’s bill payment service that facilitates paying bills with Bitcoin, has announced that it raised €800,000 in first seed investment round. The funding round, that closed last month, drew support from the largest German VC investment firm HTGF (High-Tech-Gründerfonds), as well as Barry Silbert and the Digital Currency Group (DCG).
For the funding round, the Bitwala team reached out to VCs all across Europe and the United States. Since its inception, Bitwala has always been self-funded and has successfully collected more than 10,000 customers and secured millions of Euros in transfer volume in Africa, Asia and Europe with all its companies.
Bitwala said that its main goal was to secure and maintain long-term partnerships and believes that it has successfully built relationships with HTGF and the DCG.
“It is not only about the amount we raised, it is also about the partners and how we work together” – Bitwala
HTGF is Germany’s most active and leading seed stage investor and finances technology-driven companies. It has around €500 million under management and over 400 startup investments under its belt. It focuses on innovative disruptive ideas that are located in Germany.
“Bitwala will be the first truly international bank account which allows people from all over the world to send and receive money in various currencies at marginal fees and in real-time. Using the blockchain as infrastructure to transact local currency provides an easy, secure and cost-efficient technology for underserved customers that have a real pain point”, says Chiara Sommer, Investment Manager at HTGF.
Digital Currency Group (DCG), founded by Barry Silbert, builds and supports bitcoin and blockchain companies by leveraging its insights, network, and access to capital. Silbert and the DCG have funded over 50 investments across 17 countries.
Bitwala CEO Jörg von Minckwitz said that the funding came in time when the company along with the private and public interest towards bitcoin and blockchain technology is growing rapidly. The investment will be mainly used for developing the Bitwala app and expanding globally.
“My co-founders Jan Goslicki, Benjamin Jones and I are very proud of what we have achieved so far. With the company still in its early stage, our focus has not been to gain the most capital but more towards building and maintaining strong and lasting partnerships”, said von Minckwitz.
