Michelle Phan and Ashton Kutcher back Bitcoin rewards venture Lolli
Bitcoin rewards startup Lolli has closed a $3 million Seed II funding round led by Pathfinder, the early-stage investment arm of Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund.
Other new investors include beauty entrepreneur Michelle Phan and actor Ashton Kutcher’s VC firm Sound Ventures, Craft Ventures, Company Ventures, Adam Leber, Abe Burns, and Chapter One Ventures. Repeat investors include FJ Labs, Version One, Bain Capital Ventures, Digital Currency Group, Pir Granoff, and Brian Sugar.
The funding will be used to launch Lolli’s mobile app and expand the US-based company internationally this year. It has now raised around $5.4 million in total capital.
Partner at Founders Fund, Scott Nolan, says: “Lolli became the leader in Bitcoin rewards by making it frictionless to own Bitcoin. That initial friction has always been the biggest barrier to Bitcoin adoption, and with the launch of their mobile app this year Lolli will take the next step in making Bitcoin accessible to everyone.”
Founded in August 2018, Lolli has launched its website, browser extensions on Chrome and Firefox, and says that it has given hundreds of thousands of dollars back in free Bitcoin to its users. These earn upwards of 30% back and an average of 7% on their everyday purchases.
The company partners with over 750 merchants such as Priceline, Macy’s, and Best Buy. These pay Lolli when users shop their sites. Lolli then shares the commission with its users, sending free Bitcoin to their Lolli wallets.