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PayPal-Backed Raise Secures $63M to Expand Blockchain-Based Gift Card System
The company aims to bring digital gift cards on-chain, turning them into a “programmable retail currency.”
Feb 27, 2025, 1:29 p.m.
What to know:
- Raise raised $63 million in a funding round led by Haun Ventures Previous rounds saw investments from PayPal, Accel, and New EnterprisE associates.
- The company plans to expand its blockchain-based "Smart Cards" program.
- It also brought in a new Board of Directors, including former executives from Kraken, Honey, and GrubHub
Raise, a PayPal-backed company specializing in digital gift cards and loyalty programs, has raised a $63 million round led by Haun Ventures. The round brings Raise’s total funding to over $220 million.
Other participants included Amber Group, Anagram, and GSR, among others, according to a press release. The Chicago-based company is set to use the funds to develop its blockchain-backed Smart Cards and expand the Retail Alliance Foundation, a non-profit focused on securing and modernizing the global gift card network.
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The company aims to make gift cards a “fully programmable retail currency” that strengthens brand loyalty. "This isn't a reaction to market trends -- it's the result of years of investment, research, and infrastructure-building to bring a fully on-chain, programmable retail currency to life,” the platform’s founder and CEO George Bousis told CoinDesk.
“The crypto industry needs real utility now more than ever. Investors are demand substance over speculation, and consumers are tired of broken promises,” Bousis added.
“We’ve spend over a decade exploring how blockchain can drive real-world change in the multi-trillion-dollar gift card industry.”
Along with the funding round, the company announced a new board of directors featuring Marco Santori, former CLO of Kraken; George Ruan, co-founder of Honey; Matt Maloney, founder of GrubHub; and Bjorn Wagner, CEO of Parity Technologies. Their experience spans fintech, crypto, and e-commerce.
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French Banking Giant BPCE to Roll Out Crypto Trading for 2M Retail Clients
The service will allow customers to buy and sell BTC, ETH, SOL, and USDC through a separate digital asset account managed by Hexarq.
What to know:
- French banking group BPCE will start offering crypto trading services to 2 million retail customers through its Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne apps, with plans to expand to 12 million customers by 2026.
- The service will allow customers to buy and sell BTC, ETH, SOL, and USDC through a separate digital asset account managed by Hexarq, with a €2.99 monthly fee and 1.5% transaction commission.
- The move follows similar initiatives by other European banks, such as BBVA, Santander, and Raiffeisen Bank, which have already started offering crypto trading services to their customers.
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