SA Crypto Startup Revix Secures $4M to Launch Mobile App, Expand to EU

Revix, a South African cryptocurrency investment platform, has raised ZAR58.5 million in funding (US$4 million) to help launch its mobile app and expand into the European Union (EU).

Founded by Sean Sanders and Louis Buys in 2018, Revix aims at making cryptocurrency fund investments more available to ordinary investors. The startup has offices in Cape Town and London.

The startup, which was built on the premise that everyone will be able to invest their own money and become their own wealth manager, will now look to expand after receiving US$4 million in funding from international investors and accelerators.

Revix plans to use the funds to launch its mobile app, as well as explore a range of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) investment opportunities and expand into the European Union. More than 30 additional South African jobs will be created as a result of the funding.

“We aim to blur the lines between investing in traditional asset classes, such as stocks, as well as the emerging alternative investment sectors, such as AI, biotech, 5G, eSports and cryptocurrencies,” said Sean Sanders, Revix’s chief executive officer (CEO). “We want to empower everyday people to safely invest in emerging themes, technologies and asset classes in an effortless way.”

Customers can receive points that can be redeemed for bitcoin through the startup’s behavioural loyalty and rewards programme, which is the first of its kind in South Africa.

“We’re building a behavioural loyalty model that incentivises investors to undertake smart investment decisions, such as diversifying their investment portfolios, growing the investment community, improving their financial knowledge and making smart long-term investment decisions, while being rewarded for doing so,” Sanders said.

Revix is one of 21 startups worldwide, and the only South African FinTech, to be admitted into the world-renowned six-month Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator programme.

“The accelerator is renowned for partnering with businesses that target global societal challenges by using novel technologies. Revix has created a platform that has the potential to break down the barriers to access within this alternative investing space,” said Jocelyn Weber, director of X-Labs and Berkeley’s Blockchain Xcelerator.

Wave 2 of the Qatar FinTech Hub’s (QFTH) Incubator and Accelerator Programmes selected the company as one of 11 fintech startups.

“We are at the early stages of a multi-decade super-cycle of retail investing and are looking forward to progressing the intricate web of consumer tech, finance, and regulation needed to bring real innovation to the private investment space alongside Revix,” said Ibrahim Al Mannai, executive director of advisory and incubation at Qatar Development Bank.

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