Switzerland-based cryptocurrency technology developer Tangem has landed a $15m investment from SBI Crypto Investment, a corporate investment unit for financial services firm SBI Group.
Founded in 2017, Tangem has created a blockchain-based cryptocurrency smart wallet made to look like a bank card, enabling customers to use cryptocurrencies and tokens like cash. Cryptocurrencies can be loaded onto the device using an NFC-enabled smartphone and used for physical transactions such as in-store payments.
The SBI investment will enable the company to expand its technology into other spaces, the distribution of initial coin offering tokens, ticketing, digital identity authentication and retail promotions, according to Tangem co-founder Andrey Kurennykh.
Yoshitaka Kitao, president and CEO of SBI, 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.”