A metro Atlanta cryptocurrency company is raising a $26.9 million round, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Thesis Inc. is a venture studio that funds and produces products that support cryptocurrency and decentralized technology, according to its website.
Its portfolio products include Fold, a payment app that uses a Visa rewards debit card to allow people to earn bitcoin on purchases, and Keep, which encrypts private data on public blockchain. Thesis was previously called Card for Coin Inc. and incorporated in 2014, according to the SEC.
Thesis has raised about $26 million of the round and has 47 investors, according to the SEC filing. It’s backed by Silicon Valley’s Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain Capital, Draper Associates and DHVC, according to its website.
The company did not respond to a request for comment before press time.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have enjoyed a spotlight in the past year as institutional investors have expressed their support and those currencies have become more mainstream.
Financial technology company Square invested $50 million in Bitcoin last fall. Digital payment processor PayPal and mobile payment service Venmo also recently started accepting cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, are digital currencies regulated by a peer-to-peer, decentralized payment network, which operates through blockchain technology. Because of their volatility and lack of regulation, crypto is considered a high-risk investment. With no ties to a specific government, using bitcoin or other crypto protects consumers against inflation or fluctuations in their nation’s currency.
Atlanta, which is already considered a hub for financial technology, is positioned to benefit from the growth of crypto. According to a 2019 Technology Association of Georgia report, Atlanta has about two dozen companies operating with blockchain technology, including global payment provider BitPay.
Thesis believes in decentralized financial systems, enabled by cryptocurrency, according to its website. The company is “focusing on how to bridge the bitcoin/real-world purchase gap and enabling private data on public blockchains.”
Thesis is led by CEO Matt Luongo, a Georgia Tech graduate who has spent the last decade in technology and startups. Luongo previously led Fold before joining Thesis, according to his LinkedIn.
Fold, which is dual based in San Francisco and Decatur, according to LinkedIn and the SEC filing respectively, raised a $13 million Series A led by Craft Ventures in May. That company has seen massive demand for its bitcoin cash-back debit card, according to a May 27 news release.
