Crypto "neobank": Deblock raises €16 million

The market rally has clearly reignited crypto investors' appetite. According to our information, confirming Sifted's report, the Franco-British startup Deblock has just raised €16 million.

Several funds including Hoxton and 20VC led the round, which is an extension of the startup's Seed round that we revealed in spring 2023 — €11 million at the end of 2022.

Launched in 2022, Deblock was co-founded by several former Revolut employees. The start-up offers a banking app with a non-custodial crypto wallet system (i.e. you will be the only person with control over your funds) in addition to a traditional current account (with an IBAN).

This system allows you to move from the crypto world to the fiat (euro) world without too much friction. The start-up has also launched a payment card.

According to our information, just over 200,000 people have downloaded the Deblock app since its official launch a year ago. The start-up, which employs around sixty people, is said to have "several tens of thousands of active customers".

With these funds, Deblock wants to do two things. "We want to add features to both wallets and current accounts," explains Claire Balva, Head of Strategy at the startup. On the wallet side, Deblock is working on integrating new blockchains, particularly layer 2s that offer much lower prices than layer 1s. For current accounts, the goal is to launch accounts in currencies other than the euro.

Beyond features, Deblock also wants to expand geographically. "Today, we are only present in France, but we will expand across Europe," explains Claire Balva.

The startup has just obtained its PSAN registration in France. It is only the second company to obtain it after Société Générale-Forge in 2023. Once converted to PCSA by the AMF, this license will allow Deblock, and all other companies that have it, to operate in all 27 European Union countries.