Swiss blockchain-enabled smart card company, Tangem, has raised $15m (£11.6m/€13.2m) to drive the deployment of its technology into other industries, starting with ticketing and retail loyalty.
The smart card is a banknote for digital assets, turning crypto currencies into ‘cash,’ enabling off-chain physical transactions.
Tangem began issuing its first wallets in June 2018 and works with any NFC-capable smartphone.
“We take the next big step on our mission to bring blockchain to people’s everyday life,” said Andrey Kurennykh, the company’s co-founder. “In 2018, our technology was proven by the markets after we launched the mass production of Tangem cards for crypto currencies and tokens.
“With this additional investment in 2019, we will be able to extend our product offering in other industries and provide better support to companies which embrace the idea of physical distribution of blockchain assets”.
Ticketing and loyalty will now form two of the target industries, with the firm looking to leverage the wider-user of crypto smart cards. It is also hoping its technology will translate into industries such as ticketing anti-counterfeit, digital identity, and retail loyalty and promotions.
Yoshitaka Kitao, representative director, president and chief executive of SBI Holdings Inc, who led Tangem’s funding round said: “The Tangem hardware wallet, which is highly secure and affordable, is an important tool to promote mass adoption of digital assets and blockchain. We believe utilising Tangem will help stipulate the demand for other blockchain services provided by SBI.”
Image: Tangem
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