Azteco raised $6 million in investment, led by Block Inc. CEO Jack Dorsey. By introducing Bitcoin gift cards, the Santa Monica, California-based startup hopes to boost Bitcoin acceptance.
The Azteco objective is to democratise money
Dorsey’s support for Azteco originates from a deep admiration for the company’s objective of making life easier for the world’s unbanked population.
The former Twitter CEO feels that the necessary technology and resources are there, and Azteco is taking an important step in the right path.
Azteco’s main endeavour is around the introduction of Bitcoin gift cards, which are intended to raise the value of the flagship cryptocurrency to that of traditional fiat currencies such as the US dollar.
According to Azteco CEO Akin Fernandez, the ultimate goal is to democratise money and form relationships with organisations all over the world, guaranteeing that Bitcoin spending becomes a mainstream and widely accepted concept.
He claims that relying on a third party as the currency issuer can result in a single point of failure, and that centralised control of fiat currencies frequently results in corruption.
Azteco’s answer is to replace centralised control with a computer programme, allowing Bitcoin to function as a politically and financially neutral global synthetic currency available to individuals all over the world.
Azteco has roughly 600,000 payment outlets in around 200 countries. Fernandez emphasises the huge impact this might have, notably in the United States, where around 4.5% of families are expected to be unbanked by 2021.
Dorsey’s unwavering support for Bitcoin
This current fundraising round led by Dorsey is not his first foray into the bitcoin realm.
He pledged $5 million to Bitcoin developers in June. Dorsey and his team intend to disburse this cash over a five-year period, with $1 million going to Bitcoin-related efforts each year. This demonstrates Dorsey’s commitment to encouraging innovation and development within the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Dorsey has been heavily committed in boosting Africa’s Web3 talent development in addition to funding Bitcoin development. He and billionaire music mogul Jay-Z co-founded the Bitcoin non-profit organisation Btrust.
Btrust recently made a strategic acquisition of Qala, a business dedicated to training African Bitcoin and Lightning technologists. As a result of this transaction, Qala has been rebranded as the Btrust Builders Programme, indicating a collaborative effort to enhance Bitcoin development on the African continent.
The acquisition of Qala was motivated by the realisation that, while Btrust held the necessary financial resources, it lacked the infrastructure to successfully foster and develop the African Bitcoin talent pipeline.
This is a big step towards closing the gap and promoting the growth of Web3 knowledge in Africa.
Azteco Secures $6M with Jack Dorsey in Bitcoin Funding Round,Azteco Secures $6M with Jack Dorsey in Bitcoin Funding Round