- IBEX Mercado has closed a seed investment of $4 million.
- The seed round places a $20 million valuation on IBEX as they seek to expand into the Americas and Europe.
- The investor class includes Stillmark, LUM Ventures, Fulgur Ventures, and others who share IBEX’s values of helping “previously overlooked people” access unprecedented economic opportunity.
According to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine.
Expansion and customer acquisition are set in IBEX’s crosshairs as the $20 million valuation, fueled by Stillmark, LUM Ventures, Fulgur Ventures, Hivemind Ventures and Ten31, converges on growth intent in the Americas and Europe.
“A lot of people still have the wrong idea about Bitcoin,” IBEX Mercado founder and CEO Jose Luis Lemus said, according to the release. “It’s not just a store of value, or even a faster, cheaper way to transact: it’s the platform for the boldest, most transformative transfer of financial power in history.”
IBEX has been instrumental in rolling out bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador. They have helped companies like Starbucks achieve impressive timelines for the implementation of the Lightning Network, allowing users nationwide to transact with their bitcoin. The small Guatemala-based company puts the values and needs of the unbanked at the forefront of its mind with every step it takes to achieve its hyperbitcoinization goals.
“It is obscene that in the 21st century, a third of the planet remains unbanked and an even greater number are underbanked – including in the world’s wealthiest societies,” Lemus said. “The Lightning Network will bring these people into the global economy, enabling them to transact competitively and fairly, and putting them in charge of their own financial destiny for the first time in their lives.”
IBEX finds itself accompanied by numerous investment companies who are monitoring the growing implementations available to businesses through the integration of Lightning Network. As Lightning’s development continues, IBEX seeks to prepare the world for what they see coming next.
“By unlocking this huge queue of previously overlooked people, they gain instant access to a huge range of customers and new revenue streams,” Lemus said. “This investment is a testament to the unprecedented economic opportunity Lightning is poised to bring to the world.”