Alameda Research, the company behind the FTX exchange, raised $ 50 million in a funding round to create a Bitcoin Evolution ecosystem on maps.me , an offline mapping application. The funding will make it possible to launch a multi-currency wallet on the Maps.me platform that will unlock decentralized payments for the app’s 140 million users.
Popular offline mapping app receives $ 50 million funding from major investors
The hugely popular offline mapping app, Maps.me, has just raised $ 50 million in funding to bring decentralized finance to its 140 million users. According to a press release, the funding round was led by Alameda Research, the company behind cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Genesis Capital, a Hong Kong-based investment firm, and CMS Holdings, a major investment firm focused on the crypto industry, also participated in the round.
The funding will be used to launch an embedded multi-currency wallet on Maps.me’s mobile app that is effectively opening up the world of decentralized finance to tens of millions of new users. According to Maps.me, the wallet will be able to provide access to turn-by-turn routing, travel guides and hotel bookings, as well as „handle a wide range of payment and investment tools in the Maps.me ecosystem.“
Maps.me users should be brought closer to the world of decentralized finance
The wallet embedded in the app will enable users to save values and achieve returns of up to 8 percent. Users can also use the wallet to exchange money, send money, and get cashback for transactions made through the app.
One of Maps.me’s biggest goals is to use funding to combat the high fees on foreign exchanges. The company said that third-party banks and travel booking platforms also have extremely high commissions, which make travel bookings a burden.
According to company representatives, the aim of the wallet is to enable users to make direct bookings with almost zero fees.
Alex Grebnev, Co-Founder of Maps.me, said the company looks forward to working with Alameda Research as the company has grown significantly in terms of user numbers.
Alameda Research comments that the main reason for investing in Maps.me was the platform’s potential to bring new users to the world of decentralized finance. Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and CEO of Alameda and FTX:
„By embedding and democratizing access to high-yield finance for millions of users through an everyday app, Maps.me has the potential to really drive DeFi mainstream adoption and bring breakthrough technology to the masses.“
FTX exchange users can take part in the IEO of the MAPS token on the FTX platform. The token will be issued as an SPL token on the Solana blockchain and as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum ( see How to Buy Ethereum ).
The exchange limits the IEO to users whose accounts have KYC2 and either 1,000 FTT staked or a 30-day trading volume of at least $ 50,000.
