Bitbond has raised $1.2 million in equity capital to help boost global expansion. The Berlin-based online lending platform has now raised total funding of $2.3 million. The funding round was led by mobilike founder Şekip Can Gökalp, plus several angels investors including, Fyber founders Janis Zech and Andreas Bodczek as well as Kreditech co-founder & CEO Alexander Graubner-Müller.
Bitbond said it will use the additional funds for further product development and to grow its user base in markets which are underserved by traditional lenders.
In October of 2016, Bitbond received a regulatory license by German financial services supervisor BaFin. This makes the service one of the first and only regulated blockchain based financial services providers in the lending space. The online lender connects investors who seek above average fixed-income investment opportunities with small business owners in need of financing. To make global cross-border lending possible, the platform uses the bitcoin blockchain for payment processing.
Most of the platform’s borrowers are online sellers who sell products online via e-commerce marketplaces like eBay or Amazon. Bitbond conducts a credit check based on the revenue data of the merchants who use the loans for inventory financing. In September 2016, Bitbond launched its automated scoring mechanism at Finovate New York.
Over 1,600 loans worth $1.2 million have been originated on Bitbond since its launch. 76,000 users from 120 countries have registered with the service to date.
“The additional resources will help us to continue realizing our mission which is to make lending and borrowing globally accessible. We are happy to have such experienced investors supporting us on this exciting journey,” said Bitbond founder & CEO Radoslav Albrecht.
Before founding Bitbond, Radoslav Albrecht Bitbond worked for Deutsche Bank London in sales and trading and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.