Last year saw a huge boom in funding for consumer investment applications in Southeast Asia, and if today’s announcement of Pint funding is something that should go, it seems set to continue. The cryptocurrency application received $ 113 million in Series B from Intudo Ventures, Lightspeed, Northstar Group and Pantera Capital.
Launched in April 2020, Pint is described as “Indonesia’s leading domestic platform for cryptoactivity.” This is the third round of funding that the startup has received in just over a year. The first was a $ 6 million Series A announced in May 2021 and the second was $ 35 million in Series A + funding just two months later. At the time, Pintu’s chief operating officer Andrew Adjiputro told Vidak For Congress that instead of moving to the B-Series, A + had increased as its focus on product development and implementation remained the same.
Now, 10 months later, Pint Chief Marketing Officer Timothius Martin has told Vidak For Congress that he has added more tokens, leaving a total of 66, with more added each month. The application also added additional integration of payment channels; Pintu Staking, which allows users to bet their Pintu Token; and Pintu Earn, a product that allows them to earn up to 15% annual percentage return (APY) on selected cryptographic assets that are paid out every hour without a blocking period. Users can top up or withdraw their Earn wallet at any time.
According to the Indonesian Commodity Futures Trading Agency (Bappepti), the number of cryptoinvestors in Indonesia has doubled to more than 12 million traders in the last year, compared to 7 million domestic public investors. But because cryptoactive ownership still has only a 4% penetration rate among the population, the Pintu team notes that it has plenty of room to grow. Pint is registered and licensed by Bappepti.
The application is aimed at the first investors in cryptocurrencies, especially Gen Z and millennials with features such as the Pintu Academy educational program. It allows them to invest in bitcoin, ether and other cryptocurrencies. It currently states that more than four million people have installed the application, compared to 500,000 in May 2021. The application also has communities with a total of 790,000 members across Telegram, Discord, Instagram and TikTok.
The company will use its latest funding, which will bring in a total of about $ 156 million, to add additional tokens and supported blockchains and new products. It plans to expand its Pintu Academy program, which they said will “help marketers understand the opportunities and risks of cryptoinvestment and promote healthier and sustainable business practices.” It will also carry out further recruitment, as in 2021 it has already doubled its team to 200.
The pandemic sparked interest in retail investment last year, and as the pandemic recedes, Martin said: “We see that the market is now more developed than last year. Users begin to make investment decisions based on cases of cryptoactive use. For example, gaming is a big deal in Indonesia with more than 100 million players in the country. This encourages significant growth in games and metaversion-related cryptoactive activities, as many believe these projects are contributing to the future of games. ”
In a prepared statement, Lightspeed partner Hemant Mohapatra said: “We are thrilled to be able to continue our journey with Pint and welcome our new partner, the Northstar Group. Since our investment in August last year, Pintu has grown 5x to become the country’s leading retail cryptographic broker and has hired one of the strongest teams we have seen in this market. A wave of cryptocurrencies is entering the mainstream worldwide, and Pint is building a generation company in this category.