BRD, a bitcoin and cryptocurrency mobile wallet, formerly known as Bread, announced it has raised $15 million in a Series B financing round to accelerate expansion and to scale its platform. The funds came from SBI Crypto Investment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SBI Holdings, based in Tokyo, Japan.
In addition to the funding, BRD announced the availability of cryptocurrency purchases using SEPA transfers for the European market through a partnership with Coinify.
“The new funds will enable BRD to scale its product and engineering teams to meet with the growing demands of consumers in Japan and across Asia. “SBI Group’s investment in BRD allows us to firmly cement ourselves in the Asian market. It shows incredible support for the foundation that we have built-in North America and reinforces our proven ability to scale the success we have achieved in the past 4 years. The new investment will ensure our long-term global growth, and we are incredibly excited about collaborating with SBI as a strategic investor and business partner to make that happen.”
– Adam Traidman, CEO and Co-founder of BRD
In 2018, BRD reported a record year in user growth and popularity of its mobile apps:
- 116% YoY growth of total installed base; now over 1.8 million users globally.
- Q4 2018 was a record for user growth with nearly 400,000 new users.
- Top 10 finance app in 71 countries.
“The SBI Group has been enhancing investments and partnerships with blockchain-related companies across the world. The partnership with BRD would accelerate our development of financial services utilizing blockchain / DLT, leading to fintech services that are highly beneficial and efficient for our customers.”
– Yoshitaka Kitao, Representative Director, President & CEO of SBI Holdings Inc.
