Crypto Investment Platform Pillow Raises $18 Mn In Funding From Accel, Others

Crypto investment platform Pillow has raised $18 Mn in Series A funding round co-led by Accel, Quona Capital, Elevation Capital, and Jump Capital. Elevation Capital also led the seed round of Pillow.

The startup plans to use the funding to accelerate adoption of crypto services in emerging markets.

Founded in 2021 by Arindam Roy, Rajath KM, and Kartik Mishra, Pillow claims to have a community of more than 75,000 users in over 60 countries. Pillow users can invest and save in US dollar-backed stablecoins, as well as multiple blue-chip cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum and others on the app. 

Singapore-based Pillow provides users with strategies and “market-beating rates” for popular crypto assets including USD Coin, Tether, Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

“At Pillow, we aspire to create and reward a culture of disciplined personal finance, including savings and investments powered by access to digital assets, that enable young, hardworking, ambitious people to take control of their finances, achieve life goals and work towards financial freedom,” Pillow CEO Roy said.

The startup claims to have grown its user base by 300% since the beginning of 2022, with assets under management growing 5X. In addition, it has expanded into Nigeria, Ghana, and Vietnam, among other emerging markets.

According to Ganesh Rengaswamy, cofounder and managing partner at Quona, Pillow can remove the friction of formal financial systems for the underserved, while engaging users in savings and investing behaviours. 

The fund raise comes at a time when the global economic slowdown has pummelled the crypto market, with investors losing billions of dollars.

In India, the crypto industry continues to face an uncertain regulatory environment, with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) strongly opposing the digital assets and seeking a ban on them.

Besides, crypto platforms like WazirX, CoinDCX, CoinSwitch Kuber are under scrutiny in the country for alleged violation of laws. From a stringent taxation regime to TDS on crypto transactions, the industry is facing a difficult time in the country.

India has also repeatedly called for global crypto regulations, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman raising the matter with International Monetary Fund MD Kristalina Georgieva last month. Earlier this week, the G20-backed Financial Stability Board (FSB) released a draft global regulatory framework for crypto assets.

 Despite the issues, crypto startups in the country continue to bag investments. Recently, Bengaluru-based crypto-native banking platform Juno raised $18 Mn in a Series A funding round led by ParaFi Capital’s Growth Fund. Over the last few months, many crypto startups such as Bincos, ZKX, and Crypso have attracted investments. 

According to Chainalysis, India slid two places to fourth position on the 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index.