SatoshiPay secures €550,000 in funding to offer B2B cross-border money transfer solutions and connect the world through instant payments using blockchain

SatoshiPay, a blockchain-based fintech startup that offers a micropayment solution for content creators, today announced it secured €550,000 investment from Stellar Development Foundation (SDF). The investment, which is by way of convertible loan notes, marks the third investment made by SDF through its Enterprise Fund and will support SatoshiPay to continue to develop its B2B solution for commercial, cross-border payments and its digital wallets.

SDF is a key partner of SatoshiPay providing maintenance and partner support for the Stellar decentralised ledger network. This investment will enhance the already strong relationship that exists between the two organisations and provides a strong endorsement for SatoshiPay. The convertible loan notes are expected to convert at the time of SatoshiPay’s next round of funding.

SatoshiPay was one of the first businesses to use Stellar commercially and has, to date, processed €650,000 in payments from over 200,000 accounts. SatoshiPay’s open-source wallet for the Stellar network, Solar, has been downloaded more than 25,000 times in 40 countries.

The funds will be used to primarily help develop and market the SatoshiPay B2B solution. The company is currently testing this product and expects to have a product in closed alpha testing within 8 weeks. A public beta product launch is anticipated sometime in the fourth quarter of 2020.

SatoshiPay advises that the initial reaction to the product has been very positive. Further the company estimates that the commercial payments segment, the largest segment of this market and the area that SatoshiPay’s solution will focus on, which allows businesses to make commercial payments across borders, generates €170bn annual transactions fees.

Founded in 2014 by Meinhard Benn, the London, England-based SatoshiPay is a micropayment platform that enables digital transactions on a micro-scale. Its technology enables content providers to monetize digital goods in extremely small increments and without the need for locking up user funds. The platform allows its users and companies to trade digital goods in very small increments. The startup also has office in Berlin, Germany. SatoshiPay is also backed by  Axel Springer Plug & Play, Henning Peters, Coinsilium Group, and FastForward Innovations.

By way of general business update on SatoshiPay, the company took immediate action to reduce costs post the COVID-19 outbreak and to ensure the safety of staff. The current cash position combined with the SDF investment provides sufficient working capital for the foreseeable future. The micropayment solution continues to be used in the publishing vertical and is growing steadily.

Commenting on the funding,  Meinhard Benn, CEO of SatoshiPay, said: “With a surge in demand for instant B2B payments, and blockchain maturing and enabling a payments revolution, we believe we have a head start through our proven, scalable blockchain business model. Our growth over the years wouldn’t have been possible without SDF, who has been an essential partner to us in the development of our technology which continues today with this investment.”

Blue Star Capital plc (AIM: BLU), the investing company with a focus on esports, payments, technology and its applications within media and gaming, has a 27.7% stake in SatoshiPay.

“The investment by SDF is a great endorsement of SatoshiPay and comes at a critical time in the Company’s development and secures its funding needs for some time to come. The B2B business opportunity is significant and we are looking forward to the launch of the product in the next few months. We continue to believe that SatoshiPay has an exciting future,” Tony Fabrizi, CEO of Blue Star, said.