Membrane Finance, a Helsinki-based fintech startup, has raised €2 million in seed funding, as well as received an Electronic Money License by the country’s regulator. With the license secured, Membrane’s product EUROe becomes the first regulated, full-reserve stablecoin in the EU.
- Founded in 2021, Membrane Finance is a financial technology company that is the principal architect of EUROe. Its ecosystem offers secure money infrastructure, user-friendly applications, and stablecoin-related services, that help drive the adoption of innovative blockchain services or applications in Europe.
“We’ve been working towards this very goal for the last 18 months. Getting an EU-level license and the opportunity to finally build a truly regulated Europe-based stablecoin is massive news for us. And for the wider European cryptocurrency market and community,”
Juha Viitala, co-founder and CEO of Membrane Finance, explains.
- The €2 million funding round was financed by Maki.vc. Founded in 2018, Maki.vc is a seed-stage venture capital firm headquartered in Helsinki. The firm seeks to invest in deeptech, commercial and consumer products, healthcare, AI and ML, as well as various technology sectors. Its most recent investments include Strise, Rentle, and IQM.
“If the recent events in the crypto market have shown us anything, it’s that we need trusted systems that bridge the gap between traditional financial markets and crypto ecosystems. Stablecoins are an essential part of the transition towards blockchain-based money infrastructure. And Europeans deserve to have a full-reserve euro stablecoin that is from the EU and regulated by an EU-based financial authority,”
Paavo Räisänen, Maki Ventures’ partner and the lead investor for the round, comments.
- With the fresh funds, the startup sets to launch EUROe in early 2023. It will take a fiat Euro and transform it into a 1:1 pegged digital currency that can be used in transactions on all major blockchains.
