By Celo, a blockchain payments startup has managed to raise $30 million in a funding round with renowned crypto investors Polychain Capital and Andreessen Horowitz as reported by the Wall Street Journal on April 2.
Celo, which is the trading name of A Protocol Inc, has plans to utilise an in-house digital token and stable coin to facilitate cross-border payments with a primary focus on the unbanked who use smartphones.
After successfully raising $6.4 million in previous cash injections, the company is ready to conduct pilot-phase testing in Argentina.
Rene Reinsberg, co-founder of Celo stated:
“We see big potential in letting people — directly on their smartphone — access basic financial services. We are based on blockchain technology but for the average end user we try to abstract that away, to make the experience as easy as any other mobile app.”
The idea of borderless payments without the requirement of banking credential has been the core goal for cryptocurrency startups for quite some time. Many years back, offerings such as BitPesa were already on the market and Kenya was leading the charge in terms of interest due to substantial smartphone payments penetration.
In the long-term Celo has plans to entice developers to develop additional services atop its platform. Celo will feature tow custom-built tokens with one functioning as a transaction verification tool and the other will be a U.S dollar-backed stablecoin.
The stablecoin, also known as Celo Dollar, will become the native cryptocurrency for users conducting transactions with each other.
The creation of the Celo Dollar is tied to a current trend in the industry which sees many companies launching various stablecoins, with many at this stage in adoption being tied to USD and the Japanese yen.
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