$9 Million: Bitcoin Startup Luno Completes Series B Funding

Bitcoin wallet startup Luno has raised $9 million in new funding as part of a Series B round.

Announced today, the round was led by Balderton Capital, a London-based VC firm that has invested in startups like Revolut, which launched cryptocurrency services earlier this year. As part of the deal, Balderton partner Tim Bunting will join Luno's board. Other contributors to the round include AlphaCode and Digital Currency Group.

Luno was originally founded in 2013 as BitX, but rebranded in January. At the same time, the startup also announced that it had joined the regulatory sandbox supervised by the Financial Conduct Authority, one of the U.K.'s financial markets regulators.

In statements, the startup said that it would use the funds to continue developing its mobile app and services, as well as expanding to new markets.

"Enabling more people in Europe to have access to these products and services is a critical part of our mission to bring digital currencies to everyone, everywhere – and in a way that makes everyone's journey into the world of digital currency safe, super easy, and highly enjoyable," said Marcus Swanepoel, Luno's co-founder and CEO.

Luno currently serves customers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, South Africa and the U.K.

Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Luno.

Man and coins image via Shutterstock