Ramp a company that claims to be “the PayPal” for the crypto-verse raised $52.7 million in a Series A round led by Balderton Capital. This now pushes the overall capital raised to $63 million.
The main idea behind Ramp is that it allows businesses that are a part of its ecosystem to send and receive cryptocurrencies without having to go through an exchange.
Exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance, and FTX allow us to send, receive and even trade cryptocurrencies. Prices for cryptocurrencies can be different for all exchanges at any given time.
This can lead users to be actively searching for the best exchange for business. Additionally, all of these exchanges are made for retail investors who want to get some sort of skin in the game.
Ramp’s ultimate vision is to help with crypto transactions through banks or other financial institutions through their banking applications. Not a novel concept, but interesting nonetheless.
As for regulatory issues, they have already secured approval from UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). They have also received regulatory approval from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in the US.
From a competitive perspective, this is already teeming with competitors such as MoonPay who had already raised $555 million. Myre also raised $29.1 million so far. Ramp is differentiating itself by focusing on transaction transparency and regulatory approval. These are two important factors within the crypto industry that are important right now.
Consumers are beginning to realize the manipulative practices being used by large crypto exchanges to drive up prices. Also, regulations are a major issue facing the industry and could be the downfall for companies operating as rogue anonymous businesses.
