Ramp, builder of crypto payment rails, raises $70M

Crypto-focused fintech company Ramp has raised $70 million in venture capital, upping its pledge to continue building a unified payment experience for digital assets. 

The Series B investment round was co-led by venture firms Mubadala Capital and Korelya Capital, Ramp disclosed Wednesday. As reported by Cointelegraph, Ramp raised $53 million in a Series A funding round that closed in December 2021, bringing its total capital raise to roughly $123 million.

Ramp’s management said the new funds would go toward improving its product line, expanding into new locations and increasing the number of fiat currencies and payment methods offered.

Ramp’s primary customers are businesses and blockchain protocols that want to offer users a more streamlined experience when transacting with cryptocurrencies. Ramp provides a non-custodial, full-stack payment infrastructure that, when deployed, lets users buy crypto assets inside decentralized applications and websites. The company likens its services to Paypal and Stripe in that companies can use Ramp to offer users a “unified purchase experience” across e-commerce platforms.

Crypto payments infrastructure is considered vital to support the emergence of Web3, a broad umbrella term that describes some future iteration of the internet that encompasses the value of decentralization. Many within the blockchain community believe that unlocking the power of crypto payments is necessary to promote mass adoption of the underlying technology.

Related: Web3 must bridge back into Web2 for real cash flows — Checkout.com VP

Venture capital continues to support projects building payment rails that connect crypto with the broader financial system. Although venture funding has declined in the second half of the year due to the bear market, 2022 has been a record year for funding deals.