Bitwala Raises €800k from Germany's Largest VC Firm, Barry Silbert

The startup Bitwala has announced it has received €800k in seed funding for the company’s initiatives. The team says they closed its very first funding round on March 15th after already successfully bootstrapping many Bitcoin ventures by self-funding.

Also read: Microsoft Continues to Embrace Ethereum & Bitcoin

Bitwala Acquires Funding & New Partners

Bitwala was founded by Jan Goslicki, Jörg von Minckwitz, and Benjamin Jones offering a way to send Bitcoins “easily, safely, and fast.” The startup is also well known for enabling users to pay bills with digital currency and without a bank account using the platform. Bitwala’s blog post states the company has “collected over 10,000 customers and secured millions of Euros in transfer volume in Africa, Asia and Europe.” Von Minckwitz stated:

Special thanks to my Co-founders Jan and Ben, it has been a pleasure to go through this with you guys and we could have never done it without you both.

About a year and a half ago the startup decided it would need external funding to ensure “global success.” So the team travelled abroad seeking out investors and had “countless” pitches, meetings, and phone calls to get to this moment. At times, the group said it was frustrating but the business gained valuable “knowledge and experience in the process.” During this year, they have seen more VC’s around the world wanting to get in on blockchain and Bitcoin technology startups and saw this as a good time to promote.

Bitwala says gaining money isn’t the primary focus for the company. The goal was to acquire and maintain “long-term partnerships.” One of these relationships is with Germany’s largest VC investment firm HTGF (High-Tech-Gründerfonds), which has 400 startups under its wings. Biwala also partnered with Barry Silbert and the Digital Currency Group (DCG). “There’s not a single investor who is more involved with Bitcoin and blockchain startups,” the team explains. Bitwala says they have been following his leadership ability and is confident having him onboard as an investor of their company.

Alongside DGC and HTFG, the company has been funded by many German leaders such as BASF, Carl Zeiss, Evonik, Daimler, Deutsche Post DHL, Deutsche Telekom, Robert Bosch, and RWE. The list also includes the government-owned KfW Banking Group and the Federal Ministry of Economics among investors. Bitwala believes these partnerships will allow them to expand services worldwide offering SEPA bank transfers and recurring bill payments.

What do you think about the Bitwala’s recent funding round and partnerships? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of Bitwala websites, Shutterstock and DGC