Bitwala secures €4M in new funding to launch crypto-friendly banking service

Bitwala, a blockchain-based payment service provider, has announced that it has raised €4 million in its latest funding round.

The funding round drew support from Earlybird and coparion, who join the company’s existing investors including High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Digital Currency Group (DCG), and ALSTIN. Bitwala closed its first funding round in 2016 in which it raised €800,000.

“The background and experience of the team convinced us that Bitwala will allow everyone to engage with cryptocurrencies with all the comfort and security of their bank account,” Christian Nagel, partner at Earlybird venture capital, said.

The company plans to use the funding to further develop its product and to achieve its mission of bringing “crypto-friendly banking to the world, starting in Germany.”

In August, Bitwala announced its plans to launch new Bitwala accounts in November 2018. It partnered with a German bank to offer blockchain banking. While the name of the partner bank has not been disclosed, Bitwala said that it is working to launch “a full banking experience, with deposit protection guarantee and built-in cryptocurrency trading, under a German license is a robust process.”

“I’m very proud that with our new product we will close the gap between crypto and traditional banking and solve one of the biggest hurdles on the road to mainstream adoption,” Jörg von Minckwitz, President of Bitwala GmbH.