- Summary:
- Relai plans to strictly continue offering Bitcoin investments only, and will introduce support for Lightning Network in Q4.
The European-focused Bitcoin investment platform Relai has raised $4.5 million in a funding round. The funding will go towards strengthening the cryptocurrency firm’s presence in Europe. Investors, including Lightning Venture, Redalpine, Fulgur Venture and others participated in the round, which was led by Ego Death Capital. With this seed extension round, Relai’s valuation increased to $20 million. Almost 60,000 people in Europe are using Relai, a Bitcoin-only investment app with offices in Switzerland.
The impact of new funds and the plan ahead
Andi Pitt, Co-founder of Venture Capital firm Ego Death Capital, will join the Relai Board of Directors as a result of the latest funding round. Relai also plans to use the money it has raised to create fee-free trading and introduce a white-label product that will enable other FinTechs to provide fiat-to-Bitcoin trading. It currently supports Bitcoin buying and selling and includes a Bitcoin wallet that is non-custodial, giving users greater control over their BTC holdings.
To Relai, now is the moment to put all of the energy into making the company the best it can be, educating people about Bitcoin and why it’s the best savings technology ever developed. The company believes that this approach will enable it to develop the best products to sell in the next bull market. Furthermore, the company has stated its intention to remain a Bitcoin-only platform. In line with this, it created a new business operation early this year that facilitates the incorporation of Bitcoin into the financial statements of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Julian Linniger, CEO and co-founder of Relai, says that the company has a detailed strategy that it will implement over the course of the next few months. This year, Relai aims to release various new services, including fee-free trading in the second quarter. Also, it plans to release a white-label product in the third quarter that will enable other fintechs to facilitate fiat-to-Bitcoin trading. In Q4, Relai plans to start supporting the Lightning Network.