Lyzi Raises $1.4M to Expand Tezos-Based Crypto Payments Service for Retail

Tezos-based crypto payment hub Lyzi said it raised 1.3 million euros ($1.4 million) in a seed funding round to expand the development of its platform.

The round included participation from angels investors Christopher Grilhault des Fontaines, founder of Dfns, and Jean-Luc Bernard, founder of Astek, according to an emailed announcement shared with CoinDesk on Tuesday.

Lyzi, which is built on the Tezos layer-1 blockchain, allows consumers to use cryptocurrency to make everyday payments in retail and e-commerce environments. Merchants collect payments in cryptocurrency and receive fiat directly to their bank accounts.

Following the seed raise, Lyzi's next step is launch on Tezos' layer-2, Etherlink, which is compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), the operating system of the world's second-largest blockchain.

“Our goal is to make accepting payments in crypto so easy that merchants have to ask themselves, 'Why wouldn’t I do that?'" CEO Damien Patureaux said in Tuesday's announcement.

Building on Etherlink represents the next phase of its journey to expand to more markets around the world, he said.