"We’ve been quiet for a long time, but it’s not because we’re not running." Launched in 2014, bitcoin startup Coins has focused on promoting financial inclusion in Southeast Asia. Armed with services in the Philippines and Thailand , Coins garnered early interest from major merchants while signing up more than 500,000 app users – yet, it hasn’t been public about its activities since 2015. That might soon change, however, as Coins has raised $5m in funding from an impressive array of global investors to further develop its mobile wallet and supporting services such as remittances and bill payments. Announced today, the Series A round was led by Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund , a fund dedicated solely to startups focused on financial inclusion. The round also included participation from BeeNext, Digital Currency Group, Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors, Global Brain, Pantera Capital, Rebright Partners and Wavemaker Labs. Notably, the investment included support from two innovation labs backed by major telecom providers in the Philippines: Kickstart Ventures , a wholly owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom; and IdeaSpace Foundation , an incubator backed by First Pacific, which owns telecom providers including Smart Communications. Reaching the underserved It’s the latter two investors that CEO Ron Hose believes offer his startup the biggest avenues for growth as it tries to reach its target of 600 million customers. Hose told CoinDesk: "We’ve actually worked closely with them so we can facilitate payments to their mobile wallets and send money to any phone in the company. They have infrastructure locally, we help facilitate more usage of the infrastructure." One reason for this traction may be that, unlike many bitcoin startups (which focus on digital currency), Hose said Coins uses the blockchain as a "transfer protocol", or a means to the end of serving the underserved in its […]
