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Bitwala
Founded2015
HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
Created byJörg von Minckwitz, Jan Goslicki, Benjamin P. Jones
IndustryFinancial Services
Employees30+
URLbitwala.com

Bitwala is a blockchain banking service, headquartered in Berlin, Germany that was founded by Jörg von Minckwitz, Jan Goslicki, and Benjamin P. Jones in October 2015. The company aims to “close the gap between crypto and traditional banking” and thus, promote “mainstream adoption”.[1]

Bitwala is set to launch a blockchain banking set-up to tie cryptocurrency and fiat fund-management together in one account. Bitwala will provide fully licensed bank accounts that enable SEPA transactions, and offer debit cards, Bitcoin wallets, and Bitcoin trading solutions.[2]

Product

Bitwala will offer first-time solutions to blockchain banking. Their accounts will include a Euro-denominated current account, a debit card, a cryptocurrency wallet and the option to buy and sell cryptocurrency. Fiat funds held in Bitwala accounts are insured by the German deposit guarantee scheme.[3] While, cryptocurrency funds are held in multi-signature wallets.[4]

The ability to trade is a key feature of the accounts.[5] The process of trading is simplified by the combination of a current account and cryptocurrency wallet in one account. There are no account maintenance fees, nor are there fees associated with the debit card. However, there is a 1% trading fee.[6]

Investment

Bitwala announced a US$910,000 Seed funding in March 2016.[7] The round was led by Germany's largest venture capital investment firm High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), with participation of New York-based Digital Currency Group (DCG).[8] HTGF Manager Chiara Sommer said that HTGF invested in Bitwala because “Bitwala will be the first truly international bank account which allows people from all over the world to send and receive money in various currencies at marginal fees and in real-time”.[9]

In September 2018, Bitwala raised 4 million Euro from venture capital investors Earlybird and coparion, enabling them to proceed with their re-launch November 2018.[10] Christian Nagel, partner at Earlybird commented that “The background and experience of the team convinced us that Bitwala will allow everyone to engage with cryptocurrencies - seamlessly and in unprecedented simplicity, with all the comfort and security of their bank account.”[11]

History

Bitwala's concept first emerged in October 2015 when its founders Jörg von Minckwitz, Jan Goslicki, and Benjamin P. Jones launched operations for a global blockchain-based payment service provider headquartered in Berlin, Germany. According to Wired,[12] in contrast to other money transfer services like Western Union, Money Gram, and Transferwise, the German startup utilised digital currency to offer a much faster and cheaper solution.

During Bitwala's first years, the product offering was broad. Their services enabled SEPA and SWIFT money transfers by exchanging Bitcoin or Altcoins to over 20 fiat currencies to any bank account in over 200 countries worldwide.[13] Bitwala offered a prepaid Bitcoin debit card and also operated as a Bitcoin wallet service to store, send and receive Bitcoin.[14][15]

In January 2018, Bitwala's prepaid card issuer WaveCrest Holdings Ltd was instructed by Visa Europe to suspend all cards they had issued.[16] As a result, all Bitwala cards were deactivated and their customers were to receive refunds for their card balances.[17] The procedure for processing refunds remained in the hands of WaveCrest Holdings LTD.

In January 2018, Bitwala stopped their services due to a license removal of one of its partners.[18] Shortly after, the company began preparing to relaunch alongside their partner bank.[19]

Bitwala joined European Fintech Alliance in August 2018.[20] The company launched their new website in October 2018, which coincided with the announcement of their partnership with solarisBank, a Berlin-based white label bank.[21] SolarisBank is supervised by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).[22]

Bitwala's founders have stated that the company will re-open business in November 2018.[23]

References

  1. ^ Earlybird (2018-09-25). "Earlybird invests in Bitwala" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  2. ^ Bitwala (2018-03-06). "Bitwala sneak peak". Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  3. ^ Bitwala (2018-10-09). "Blockchain-Bankkonto Bitwala startet Mitte November" (in German). Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ [2]
  6. ^ [3]
  7. ^ "Bitwala Raises €800,000 for Bitcoin SEPA Transfers - CoinDesk". CoinDesk. 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  8. ^ http://gruenderfonds.de/en/german-bitcoin-startup-bitwala-raises-e800k-in-seed-round-to-empower-global-money-transfer-based-on-blockchain-technology/.
  9. ^ "High-Tech Gründerfonds | German Bitcoin Startup Bitwala Raises €800k in Seed Round To Empower Global Money Transfer Based on Blockchain Technology". high-tech-gruenderfonds.de. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  10. ^ Finextra (2018-09-25). "Bitwala to launch blockchain banking in Germany after €4m fund raising". Finextra Research. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  11. ^ Bitwala (2018-09-26). "Crypto Payments Startup Bitwala Raises €4 Million in New Funding". Retrieved 2018-09-29.
  12. ^ Bitwala (2016-04-16). "Wie Berliner Gründer euch mit der Blockchain bei Überweisungen ins Ausland helfen" (in German). Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  13. ^ (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle, The booming Bitcoin business | DW | 07.03.2017, retrieved 2018-09-12
  14. ^ "Bitwala Adds Debit Card to its Service Portfolio". Cointelegraph. 2015-12-12. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  15. ^ "Bitwala Launches Bitcoin Wallet - How Safe Is It?". Cointelegraph. 2016-08-24. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  16. ^ "Visa Suspends WaveCrest Status, Stopping Some Crypto Credit Cards | The Fintech Times". The Fintech Times. 2018-01-05. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  17. ^ Bitwala (2018-01-18). "A turning point in Bitwala's history". Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  18. ^ Bitwala (2018-01-18). "A turning point in Bitwala's history". Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  19. ^ Bitwala (2018-03-06). "Bitwala bank account coming soon". Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  20. ^ "Bitwala joins European Fintech Alliance | The Fintech Times". The Fintech Times. 2018-08-07. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  21. ^ Bitwala (2018-10-09). "Blockchain-Bankkonto Bitwala startet Mitte November" (in German). Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  22. ^ [ https://www.solarisbank.com/en/imprint/]
  23. ^ [4]
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