Swedish Bitcoin-Powered Mobile Refill Service Bitrefill Raises $2M to Expand Services

Swedish crypto-powered mobile refill service Bitrefill has closed a seed round of $2 million to expand its services, crypto media outlet The Block reports on June 13.

The Stockholm-based company offers mobile service top-ups in bitcoin (BTC), enabling users to recharge their mobile subscriptions using the major cryptocurrency.

Following the new funding round, led by United States-based bitcoin startup Coin Ninja, Bitrefill is reportedly planning to expand its services outside the U.S. and Europe, as well as launch new products.

In March 2019, Bitrefill enabled crypto payments for reservations on popular accommodation booking service Airbnb, allowing users to pay for bookings in bitcoin, as well as ether (ETH), litecoin (LTC), dogecoin (DOGE), and dash (DASH).

In April, Bitrefill launched an experimental service to facilitate payment process channels on the Lightning Network — a payment protocol operating as a second layer bitcoin blockchain. The new tool, called “Thor Turbo,” aims to sufficiently speed up transactions on the Lightning Network, which can normally demand up to an hour to open a lightning channel.

Recently, major American cryptocurrency exchange and wallet service Coinbase launched its Visa debit card in six European countries such as Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands. The cards are synced directly to users’ Coinbase accounts and are available both as a mobile app and physical cards to enable fiat withdrawals through ATMs.