Cryptocurrencies are increasing in popularity over time, as more and more people become aware about them and the advantages that crypto can bring.
Additionally, many have just been investing in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a pure asset or investment, to take advantage of the stunning price rise that has been seen this year.
The popularity of crypto has also been aided by various announcements by popular payment providers that they will begin to accept crypto.
PayPal and Apple Pay are two of the biggest payment platforms in the world, and both have recently stated that they will soon support cryptocurrencies on their apps, which will open access to crypto to millions of people.
Thus, crypto-based payment apps can be extremely lucrative at this time, and a Nigerian start-up is looking to get there as soon as possible.
Blueloop, which is a Nigerian fintech startup, has recently raised $77,000 in pre-seed funding, as it aims to build Flux, a mobile app which will allow cross-border crypto payments.
Individuals and businesses will be able to send crypto to anyone from anywhere in the world, where it will then be converted into the local currency in the Flux Wallet, and will be available for use. It will work like a regular banking app, allowing users to send and receive money, send money to their bank accounts, and transact online, except that this will be done using cryptocurrencies.
This sort of app can be extremely useful, especially given the popularity of online and mobile casinos, which have also begun supporting cryptocurrencies. Such casino Bitcoin (BTC) sites and apps have been growing in terms of their users due to this option to pay and withdraw in cryptocurrencies, and thus it will be extremely exciting once mobile crypto payment apps are here, since users would be able to make payments and withdraw their winnings seamlessly without any hassle.
The team behind flux had begun working on its development full-time back in February 2020, and had a prototype ready by April. The app went live in September, and the team is now working towards improving the product, as well as launching it on scale, which is what the majority of this funding round will be used for. Mozilla, Pioneer and Hustle Fund VC are among the angel investors involved in this funding round.
According to Ben Eluan, one of the founders of the app, the idea came from their experience at university, where they created an app called Joppa. That app was aimed at helping students buy supplies and other things from merchants within the university, but it blew up and drew more than 20,000 students when it was launched, which is what inspired them to work on Flux. They spent time researching the crypto and payments sector, and believe that Flux solves a gap in the market.
There are multiple apps that allow people to transfer and receive money from one country to another, but many of them took a long time to make that money available for users, while they were also relatively expensive.
By using cryptocurrencies, both these issues are solved, while the app can also be used for multiple purposes. Merchants can use it to accept payments, while individuals can use it to make regular transactions.
Freelancers can also use Flux to get paid. Thus, by combining various features, as well as using crypto, Flux will potentially be able to plug a big gap in the payments industry.
It remains to be seen as to how popular the app gets, and whether it is able to get a user base outside of Nigeria.
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