Swiss ‘Smart Card’ Crypto Wallet Tangem Gets $15 Million From Japan’s SBI Group

Switzerland-based Cryptocurrency ‘smart card’ wallet manufacturer Tangem has secured $15 million in funding from Japanese finance giant SBI Group, the company confirmed in a press release Jan. 21.

Tangem, which began issuing its first wallets in June 2018, aims to increase cryptocurrency adoption by making assets spendable in a manner similar to conventional smart cards often used in transport and loyalty settings.

Ticketing and loyalty will now form two of the target industries Tangem hopes to leverage to spread crypto smart cards, according to Tangem’s press release. The company also said it is eyeing initial coin offering (ICO) token distribution, identity and anti-counterfeiting.

“With this additional investment in 2019, we will be able to extend our product offering in other industries and provide better support to companies which embrace the idea of physical distribution of blockchain assets,” co-founder Andrey Kurennykh commented in the press release.

While Tangem is a relatively nascent project, the investment marks just another outlet for SBI in the cryptocurrency sphere.

As Cointelegraph reported, the company is currently deeply involved with expanding its presence in various aspects of the industry, from opening its own exchange in Japan to working with banks on blockchain tools.

SBI’s dedicated crypto subsidiary, SBI Crypto Investment, the same entity behind the Tangem funding, last week announced it was funnelling an undisclosed amount into another Swiss wallet startup, Breadwinner AG.