Merge raises €8.8M to power banking and payments for the web3 economy; here’s how

London-based Merge, a banking and payments infrastructure provider for the Web3 economy, announced on Monday that it has raised $9.5M (approximately €8.84M) in a Seed round of funding. 

The company says the funds will help it to develop its API-based banking and payments platform, bridging the gap between fiat and crypto ecosystems.

Investors supporting the startup

The round was led by London-based Octopus Ventures, a multi-stage venture capital investor specialising in health, fintech, deeptech, B2B software, and consumer sectors.

Zihao Xu, an investor at Octopus Ventures, says, “As the crypto economy moves further into the mainstream, it’s increasingly clear that the current financial infrastructure isn’t fit to serve the rapid expansion of crypto-native businesses and many providers aren’t specialised enough to gauge risk. Merge’s vision is to build the infrastructure necessary to allow crypto businesses to operate without fear of shutdown by regulators or third-party risk teams. We’re excited to back them as they build that and, ultimately, unleash even more innovation in crypto and defi.”

Other investors, including Hashed, Coinbase Ventures, Alameda Research, and Ethereal Ventures, also participated in the round. 

Well-known angel investors from both crypto and traditional finance also joined in. They include the founder of Aave, co-founder of Polygon, CEO of Ledger, and former CEO of Barclays Consumer Banking, among others.

One API to power banking and payments for the web3 economy

Kebbie Sebastian, a former PayPal and Barclays executive, alongside former Coinbase and Luno executives, launched Merge, a platform that will provide a way for crypto and web3 companies to hold and transfer fiat funds, convert between fiat and crypto, and manage compliance, all within its API.

Merge also reduces the cost and complexity of embedding financial services for crypto-focused companies, while lowering the burden of managing multiple integrations and global licensing requirements. “We’re building the financial OS to propel crypto businesses into the mainstream,” says the company.