Ramp raises $70 million to build crypto payment infrastructure for businesses
Ramp Network, a crypto-focused fintech startup that builds payments infrastructure, said Wednesday it has raised $70 million in new funding to add more payment methods to its product line and hire more talent.
The company’s Series B round was led by Mubadala Capital and Korelya Capital, with participation from Balderton Capital and Cogito Capital. The new round brought the total amount raised by the company in the past 12 months to nearly $123 million, following a $53 million Series A funding round in December 2021.
Ramp provides a full-stack payment infrastructure product, allowing users to purchase cryptoassets within decentralized applications and websites with a toolkit for developers to provide onramps and offramps, hence the name of the company. The core product allows businesses to allow customers to purchase crypto using traditional payment methods via debit and credit cards, bank transfers and Apple Pay.
The company envisions itself as the PayPal or Stripe of crypto, empowering businesses to deliver a simplified e-commerce experience to users that allows them to easily onboard from traditional finance.
Crypto payments are fundamental to what is known as Web3, a term used to describe the decentralized web built by blockchain technology that supports token economies and decentralized apps. To participate in Web3 and token economies, users must first purchase crypto tokens.
In many cases, this involves users joining a cryptocurrency exchange, funding an account, trading local currency for tokens, and then using that to enter the Web3 ecosystem. Users may even have to go to another decentralized exchange to trade again to get the token they want.
That process can turn off everyday users because it requires intermediate to advanced cryptographic knowledge. With an easy-to-use ramp like Ramp, users could buy and sell tokens inside an app and just hit the ground running.
“Our goal is to continue building infrastructure to make Web3 easy and accessible,” said Szymon Sypniewicz, co-founder and CEO of Ramp. “Despite current market conditions, we’re seeing a growing trend of web2 companies looking to move into Web3, and we’re uniquely positioned to help them through this transformation. That’s why we’re doubling down on growth.”
Despite what has been dubbed “crypto winter” by market analysts, a depression in crypto markets that has seen bitcoin fall more than 70% from its 2021 high to near $17,000, Sypniewicz said Ramp is doing well.
Transaction volumes for the company during 2022 year-to-date have increased by nearly 240% from the same period in 2021. At the same time, the total number of unique users flowing through integration partners has increased by more than 600%, although Ramp did not provide further details. The company has also increased its total staff to 200 employees.
Ramp’s current clients include video game retailer GameStop, game-to-earn crypto collectibles game “Axie Infinity,” crypto-based fantasy sports company Sorare, and crypto wallet hardware maker Ledger.
“A bear market is a building market, and we are fully committed to our vision,” Sypniewicz said.
Ramp said it plans to use the fresh funding to continue building new features for its current product line, adding more local currencies and payment methods, expanding the number of territories it’s available for and hiring more staff.
