Monerium, a blockchain startup based in Reykjavik, closed a $2 million seed funding round led by the Nordic VC fund and Crowberry Capital. ConsenSys and Hof Holdings also participated in the round. F
Monerium, a blockchain startup based in Reykjavik, closed a $2 million seed funding round led by the Nordic VC fund and Crowberry Capital. ConsenSys and Hof Holdings also participated in the round.
Founded in 2016 by a team of serial entrepreneurs, academics, and veterans from financial services and central banking, Monerium aims to "make currency accessible, secure and simple to transact … by issuing asset-backed, redeemable and regulated e-money on blockchains." The company will use the new capital to accelerate development of these services.
The path forward hinges on regulatory approval. Monerium has applied for a full financial license across the European Union through a subsidiary, seeking the legal standing to issue e-money directly.
CEO Sveinn Valfells described the company's direction: "Monerium has a clear vision to bridge fiat money and blockchains. It was when working with ConsenSys shortly after the launch of Ethereum, that we first identified e-money as a key catalyst for mainstream blockchain adoption."
He elaborated on why obtaining a license matters: "Becoming a licensed financial institution is the next key step for Monerium in order to assume full responsibility for and control over the complete range of functions required to issue e-money on blockchains: asset management, compliance, risk management, and product development. Drawing on our extensive experience of financial services and technology, we are confident that we can enable our customers to store and transmit fiat funds safely and efficiently on blockchains, permissioned or permissionless."
Headquartered in Reykjavik, Monerium operates with 14 employees spread across Iceland, Sweden, the US, and the UK. The company launched in September 2016 with the aim of bringing fiat money to the Ethereum blockchain.
ConsenSys backed the company through Coven, a newly launched co-venturing initiative. Andrew Keys, co-founder of ConsenSys Capital, explained the firm's interest: "ConsenSys is dedicated to supporting companies building the infrastructure needed for a more decentralized and self-sovereign future. Monerium's work in tokenizing currencies across Europe is an exciting endeavor we're glad to be a part of."
Jon Helgi Egilsson, who chairs Monerium, brought relevant expertise from his prior role as chairman of Iceland's central bank. He grounded the company's mission in his nation's financial trauma: "In Iceland in 2008, a centralized financial system collapsed and almost caused a systemic economic meltdown. The 'too-big-to-fail' banking institutions were a single point of failure for deposits, lending, and payments. Despite what happened in 2008, global finance is still largely dependent on centralized institutions and systems, and there remains a distinct lack of competition."
Egilsson sees decentralization as the answer: "We believe the solution is to bring about greater decentralization. By becoming an asset-backed, regulated, and redeemable e-money provider for blockchains, Monerium will help to decentralize global finance, which will offer customers more options to store and send e-money, while simultaneously supporting financial stability."
