Korean Bitcoin Exchange Coinplug Receives $5 Million In Series B Funding

Coinplug, a Korea-based bitcoin exchange, wallet, card and payment processor targeting the Asian market, recently received $5 million in Series B funding, according to CrunchBase. The exchange has received $8.3 million in funding from four rounds from nine investors.

In addition to providing a bitcoin exchange, a bitcoin wallet and payment processing, Coinplug also provides a two-way ATM and payment processor and offers a bitcoin gift card called “okBitcard” which is available at supermarkets.

Coinplug’s Nine Investors

Mirae Asset Venture Investment is Coinplug’s lead series A investor. Other Series A investors include Bokwang Investment, Capstone Partners Korea, DSC Investment and Tim Draper. Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) and Key Initiatives Technical Entrepreneur are venture investors, while SBI Investment is a series B investor Silverblue is a seed investor.

Coinplug recently announced it will allow bitcoin transactions over email and popular messaging apps, according to realmoneyasia.com. It is planning to launch new related services overseas as well.

Coinplug and 7/11 have made it possible for consumers to purchase BTC at convenience stores in Korea. Visa is also on board to offer a BTC backed Coinplug debit card which allows users to purchase goods and services anywhere Visa is accepted.

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App Can Send Bitcoin via Email

Coinplug users can now send bitcoin with just email addresses, phone numbers, or accounts on popular messaging apps like KakaoTalk, Line and Telegram. Senders select the person they want to send money to using the app, which messages the recipient. The recipient can then log into the app or web interface to collect the amount.

The app also has a money transfer feature that converts BTC into KRW and sends it to the recipient’s bank account providing the sender has the recipient’s bank account details and the mobile number.

Jay Hong, chief technical officer, and Ryan Uhr, CEO, are both founders of Coinplug.

Featured image from Shutterstock.