Crypto Venture for Gift Card Company, Raise, Secures $63 Million in Financing Guided by Haun Ventures
In a strategic move to make cryptocurrency more accessible and practical for everyday consumers, Raise, the gift card startup founded in 2013, has announced plans to expand into the cryptocurrency space with a new product offering called "Smart Cards". This expansion was made possible with a recent $63 million funding round.
The funding round, led by Haun Ventures, also attracted participation from Paper Ventures, Selini Capital, GSR, and Raj Gokal, the co-founder of Solana. Notably, the new crypto-centric board of Raise includes industry veterans such as Marco Santori, the ex-Kraken chief legal officer, Bjorn Wagner, the ex-CEO of Polkadot developer Parity Technologies, George Ruan, the cofounder and former CEO of Honey, and Matt Maloney, the founder and former CEO of GrubHub.
Raise aims to offer crypto-enabled gift cards that allow users to store, transfer, and spend digital currencies conveniently, without the need for deep engagement with complex blockchain or trading platforms. By leveraging "Smart Cards," which build on the concept of cards with integrated circuits, Raise intends to bring enhanced functionality and security to their gift card offerings, potentially including biometric or cryptographic features for identity verification or secure transactions.
This approach aligns with a broader fintech trend to normalize digital-first payment experiences, treating crypto as a legitimate, spendable unit of value rather than just an investment or novelty. The move positions Raise to tap into the emerging consumer trend of crypto gifting and digital asset use, echoing similar market activities such as Fold's Bitcoin Gift Card, which simplifies bitcoin adoption by integrating it into everyday retail environments.
According to Raise's founder, Alex Bousis, the company is betting heavily on the future of cryptocurrency with this new expansion. Bousis stated that the time for crypto expansion is now, and the company plans to use the fresh capital to expand its product offering into crypto with "Smart Cards".
It's important to note that the crypto-branded funding round did not stem from the current financial health of Raise, according to Bousis. Reports indicate that stolen or altered gift card numbers have drained hundreds of millions of dollars from Americans, and Bousis wants to leverage blockchain technology to combat gift card theft.
With this new funding, Raise plans to use the new capital to expand into the crypto territory, potentially draining less money from Americans due to improved security measures and making cryptocurrency a more practical and accessible form of payment. The company's strategy focuses on making cryptocurrency more accessible and practical for everyday consumers by embedding crypto functionality into familiar formats like gift cards, reducing the barriers to entry for users new to digital assets.
[1] Source: CoinDesk - [Link to the article] [2] Source: Cointelegraph - [Link to the article] [3] Source: Fold - [Link to the article]
- The expansion of Raise's product offering into cryptocurrency with "Smart Cards" is not only aimed at normalizing digital-first payment experiences, but also at utilizing blockchain technology to combat gift card theft, as stated by the company's founder, Alex Bousis.
- Raise's strategic move to make cryptocurrency more accessible and practical for everyday consumers involves offering crypto-enabled gift cards that leverage advanced security measures, such as those provided by Smart Cards, while also tapping into the emerging trend of crypto gifting and digital asset use.
