Crypto Investment App Donut Raises $1.8 Million in Seed Funding

Cryptocurrency investment app provider Donut has raised $1.8 million in a seed funding round.

The Germany-based startup told CoinDesk on Thursday that the round was led by early-stage venture capital firm Redalpine. Other investors included technology venture funds EarlyBlock and Entrepreneur First, AngelList’s Philipp Moehring and Andy Chung, N26 bank board member Marcus Mosen, and others.

The firm bases its mission on the premise that creating a digital asset portfolio is a "daunting task" for most retail investors and, thus, aims to make that process simpler. The app is currently in beta and is expected to see public launch this summer.

Donut co-founder and CEO Neel Popat said in the announcement:

“We believe most people will have the majority of their wealth stored in digital assets within the next decade. That could be anything from cryptocurrencies to fractional ownership of art or owning a piece of unique land in virtual reality.”

“Our mission is to empower everyone to become an investor in that future,” he added.

As the firm is still in the product development process, Popat told CoinDesk he couldn't provide details on supported crypto assets or fee structure yet.

However, he said Donut's target market is "first-time" crypto investors. "We want to make crypto investing more accessible for the average consumer and help them educate about investing, crypto and the underlying technologies," he said.

The app allows users to invest in baskets of digital assets through a "gamified user interface," according to Popat, and is optimized for recurring micro-investing transactions.

With the new funding, Donut said it plans to grow its engineering and design teams, as well as further develop its product and strengthen partnerships.

Redalpine partner and Donut board member Harald Nieder commented that, while digital assets have many benefits over traditional assets, they "lack a single access point for holders to conveniently store, manage and transact.”

Founded in 2018, Donut is led by ex-Google, Accenture and N26 employees.

The app leverages the EU’s Payment services (PSD 2) Directive to “remove some of the common on-ramp issues with buying and storing digital assets,” Donut said, adding that "over 5,000" users have already joined its waiting list.

Founding team image courtesy of Donut (Neel Popat on left)