After Nuri (formerly Bitwala) went bankrupt, Jan Goslicki and Dennis Daiber re-founded the crypto startup last year. Now a blockchain fund invested.
In 2023, Jan Goslicki (left) and Dennis Daiber dared to restart Bitwala after Nuri’s bankruptcy. Bitwala
Crypto startup Bitwala has completed its first round of funding after relaunching. Company circles say that it is a six-figure euro sum. As a result of the financing round, the company’s valuation increased from 3.5 million euros last year to more than five million euros.
According to the company, the Blockchain Founders Fund invested. The Singapore-based venture capital fund invests in early-stage blockchain companies worldwide. Bitwala’s vision fits perfectly with the fund’s vision of “making blockchain mainstream,” Aly Madhavji, general partner at Blockchain Founders Fund, is quoted as saying in a statement from Bitwala.
Bitwala wants to use the new capital to further expand its products. A further round of financing is already in prospect, according to company circles. Bitwala should be able to collect a total of up to ten million euros in the coming months.
Bitwala makes paying with Bitcoin and Ethereum possible
The startup offers its customers so-called self-custodial wallets for Bitcoin and Ethereum. These wallets work like a vault through which customers can send, receive, buy, sell or simply store the two cryptocurrencies in real time. Bitwala also recently launched a debit card that allows customers to pay with their crypto in everyday life.
Bitwala was originally founded in 2014. In the past ten years, the crypto startup has experienced some ups and downs: in 2021 the company decided to rebrand and rename itself Nuri, and in 2022 Nuri went bankrupt. In the same year, Russia’s attack on Ukraine, among other things, caused both stock and crypto prices to collapse. Nuri, which was making money primarily through trading at the time, found itself in financial trouble. A few months later, the US crypto bank Celsius went bankrupt, making Nuri’s situation even more difficult. To date, Celsius had held crypto holdings from Nuri customers, among others. Bitwala then found no more investors.
In 2023, Jan Goslicki (one of the three founders of the original Bitwala) together with Dennis Daiber (also formerly of Bitwala) dared to restart and re-founded the company under the old name. Bitwala’s goal is to become profitable as quickly as possible and not to be dependent on investors again, said Goslicki in an interview with Gründerszene at the end of 2023.
You can read the whole story of Bitwala here:
The Bitwala story:
Bad Luck and Troubles: The Remarkable Story of Bitcoin Startup Bitwala, Part 1