Redotpay, a Hong Kong-based crypto payment startup, has hit unicorn status after completing a $47 million funding round from investors including Coinbase Ventures, the venture capital arm of U.S. billionaire Brian Armstrong’s crypto exchange giant Coinbase Global.
Other investors who joined the round include Vertex Ventures, a unit of Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek, and Galaxy Ventures, the venture capital arm of U.S. billionaire Michael Novogratz’s crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital, as well as an unnamed “global technology entrepreneur,” Redotpay said in a statement on Thursday.
Established in 2023 by ex-DBS banker Michael Gao, Redotpay offers prepaid cards for payments in cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins and bitcoins, across some 130 million merchants. The company also operates an app that allows the sending and receiving of cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies, with additional functions such as borrowing against crypto holdings, earning interest on digital assets and currency exchange between crypto and fiat. Redotpay said it has garnered more than 5 million users and has processed $10 billion in annualized total payments volume since its founding.
Redotpay said it will use the proceeds to expand its services globally and secure regulatory licenses. “Our mission has always been to make digital finance accessible, secure, and efficient for everyone,” said Gao, cofounder and CEO of Redotpay, in the statement. “[The investors’] global expertise across both crypto and fintech will help us accelerate growth, strengthen compliance, and expand access to the broader blockchain ecosystem worldwide.”
Redotpay’s latest funding round came only six months after it raised $40 million in a round led by California-based Lightspeed Venture Partners. Others who participated in that fundraising include blue-chip VCs like HongShan Capital Group (HSG), DST Global Partners and Accel.
Redotpay’s rapid ascent to unicorn status comes amid a recent crypto rally that’s fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s vocal support for the industry, which was plagued by high-profile scandals and corporate failures a few years ago. In July, Trump signed a law to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins, paving the way for the fiat-pegged digital assets to become a mainstream tool for money transfers and payments.
Hong Kong, where Redotpay is based, in August also kicked off a regulatory regime that requires stablecoin issuers to obtain a license. The move, coupled with bitcoin hitting an all-time high of $124,000 the same month, reignited investor interest in the crypto sector.
Among the Hong Kong startups riding on the renewed crypto frenzy are HSG-backed RD Technologies, a fintech startup that’s pursuing a local stablecoin issuer license. In August, RD Technologies raised about $40 million in a round led by ZA Global, part of mainland Chinese insurer ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance, to expand into digital currency transactions.
