Strategic investment from SBI will be used to further expand its global presence in Asia, also partners with Coinify to fuel existing growth in Europe.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — (January 25, 2019) – BRD, the most secure cryptocurrency mobile wallet, trusted by users in over 170 countries, has raised $15 million in a Series B financing round to accelerate international expansion and to scale its technology platform. The funds came from SBI Crypto Investment, a wholly owned subsidiary of SBI Holdings, based in Tokyo, Japan. In addition, BRD announced the availability of cryptocurrency purchases using SEPA transfers for the European market through a partnership with Coinify, a leading virtual currency payment provider.
The new funds will enable BRD to scale its product and engineering teams to meet with the growing demands of consumers in Japan and across Asia. “SBI Group’s investment in BRD allows us to firmly cement ourselves in the Asian market,” said Adam Traidman, CEO and Co-founder of BRD. “It shows incredible support for the foundation that we have built in North America and reinforces our proven ability to scale the success we have achieved in the past 4 years. The new investment will ensure our long-term global growth, and we are incredibly excited about collaborating with SBI as a strategic investor and business partner to make that happen.”
By using BRD to purchase and store cryptocurrencies, consumers no longer need to take the risk of using exchanges, many of which have been hacked or compromised over the past 6 years.
“The SBI Group has been enhancing investments and partnerships with blockchain-related companies across the world,” said Yoshitaka Kitao, Representative Director, President & CEO of SBI Holdings Inc. “The partnership with BRD would accelerate our development of financial services utilizing blockchain / DLT, leading to fintech services that are highly beneficial and efficient for our customers.”
The partnership with Coinify will enable BRD to provide the most secure and a low-cost way to purchase bitcoin in the 34 countries across the SEPA region using bank accounts. “BRD has blazed the trail as a decentralised financial platform and we are excited to be the selected partner for their European launch,” said Rikke Stær, Chief Commercial Officer of Coinify. “They have been one of the pioneers of the virtual currency industry, and it is a pleasure to be chosen to power their SEPA trades.”
In 2018, BRD also experienced a record year in new user growth and popularity of its mobile apps:
- 116% Y-o-Y growth of total installed base; now over 1.8M users globally
- Q4 2018 was a record Quarter for new user growth; nearly 400K new users in Q4
- Top 10 Finance app in 71 countries
BRD provides consumers and retail investors with the simplest way to get started with bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Customers have flexibility in making purchases using credit cards, checking accounts, cash, or other cryptocurrencies. BRD also employs an industry-leading security and privacy model that is both truly decentralized and leverages the latest security technologies available on mobile platforms. With an estimated over $6B USD in cryptocurrency under protection, BRD remains the most trusted bitcoin and cryptocurrency mobile wallet available.
The BRD app is available for download from the App Store or Google Play. For more information, please visit BRD at www.BRD.com.
About BRD
BRD is a global company that’s bringing blockchain-enabled financial services to the mobile generation. We provide consumers with the simplest and the most secure way to buy and protect bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Launched in 2015, and headquartered in Zurich (Switzerland), BRD is a venture-backed company which has raised $55M USD from top investors focused on banking, FinTech, and the blockchain. BRD’s crypto apps are available for both iOS and Android in over 170 countries. With over 1.8M customers worldwide, BRD has accumulated $6B USD of crypto assets under protection and is one of the fastest growing blockchain-enabled finance apps for everyday consumers (a Top 10 Finance app in 71 countries).
About SBI Holdings
The SBI Group, established in 1999 as a pioneer of Internet-based financial services in Japan, has formed the world’s first Internet-based financial conglomerate, providing financial services in a broad range of fields including securities, banking and insurance. In addition, the SBI Group provides Asset Management Business, with a prime focus on investment in venture companies – an activity undertaken since before the Group’s founding. In this sphere, the SBI Group has made focused investments in the IT and biotechnology sectors, which are the 21st century growth industries. Currently, the development of new technologies is accelerating within the Fintech, IoT, AI, Big Data and related fields thus attracting global attention. The SBI Group is proactively investing in venture companies within these fields.
About Coinify
Coinify is an established global virtual currency platform actively offering solutions in Europe, Asia and other regions. Coinify’s services include: individual currency trading, tailored solutions for partner providers via the Coinify API and a Payment Suite with payment processing solutions for every need. The Coinify team consists of strong backgrounds in payments, finance, risk, e-commerce, and compliance areas and experience in working with digital currencies since 2010. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is backed by Nordic Eye Venture Capital, SEED Capital Denmark, SEB Venture Capital and Accelerace.