By
Steve Muchoki
April 19th, 2024
This is the first funding for BTC Direct over the last seven years since inception. The European crypto platform will use these funds to further expand its services in the region.
On Monday, October 19, the Dutch crypto platform BTC Direct announced that it has secured $13 million in Series A funding. This is the first successful fundraising from the bootstrapped company founded seven years ago in 2013. Although the names remain undisclosed, the team said that they received funding from private investors that focus on innovative growth companies.
Since its inception, BTC Direct has grown to become a trusted platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies. Its core business involved buying cryptocurrencies on a large scale from international exchange and later selling it on its own platform. Currently, the platform offers Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
BTC Direct also offers its customers a seamless experience of crypto purchase with reliable payment methods like Visa and Mastercard. This makes transactions on its platform fast and very convenient for its customers. Speaking about the new fundraise, BTC Direct CEO Mike Hunting said:
“BTC Direct was founded in early 2013 and has been around for the majority of Bitcoin’s existence. We feel that we have a real good grasp on where this market is going and have developed several services to accommodate the growth of the entire crypto ecosystem these next few years. Through the resources we brought in, we now have put everything in place to accelerate growth on multiple fronts”.
Future Growth Plans for BTC Direct
CEO Hunting said they will use the funds to expand their team and double it in size within the next 18 months. However, he adds that they will work in coordination with the regulators and do things within the laws’ ambit. He specifically mentions the AMLD5 regulation introduced earlier this year.
On the other hand, BTC Direct is also working towards product development and expanding its marketing. BTC Direct co-founder Davy Stevens said:
“After launching BTC Direct in 2013 we also launched the cryptocurrency trade app “BLOX” and our fiat-to-crypto onramp, which is mainly focussed on the European market. We have been building these on- and off ramps into crypto for more than seven years already.”
Europe has emerged as one of the big markets for crypto players. Also, with some friendly regulatory practices, crypto companies are looking to expand their presence in Europe’s payment market. BTC Direct said that companies still need to more in understanding customer demands. Instead of just focusing on card payments and bank transfers, companies need to drive their attention to local payments as well.
BTC Direct said that they see a huge opportunity in offering local payment methods and are continuously adding more. BTC Direct has already partnered with some local companies and adding new integrations each month. It looks like the Dutch crypto platform is all set to serve its customers during the next bull run.