Raise Secures $63 Million to Build Blockchain-Backed Gift Card Program

Raise secured $63 million in a funding round to accelerate its efforts to bring gift cards and loyalty programs on-chain.

The company will use the new capital to further develop its blockchain-backed gift card program called Smart Cards and to expand its nonprofit coalition called the Retail Alliance Foundation, which aims to bring global retailers and brands together to create a more secure gift card network, according to a Wednesday (Feb. 26) press release.

“Having been involved in blockchain and crypto since its early days, we waited for the right regulatory framework and the technological maturity to support a fully reconfigured, on-chain gift card industry,” Raise founder and CEO George Bousis said in the release. “That time is now — the barriers that once existed are no longer obstacles.”

Since the company’s founding in 2013, Raise has facilitated over $5 billion in transactions through its Raise consumer app, GCX gift card exchange and Raise for Business B2B operations, according to the release.

The company has nearly 7 million users and more than 1,000 retail partnerships, per the release.

With its introduction of blockchain-powered gift cards, Raise is working to boost the value and trust that consumers place in gift cards, the release said.

The company’s latest funding round was led by Haun Ventures.

“Raise is seizing a massive, outdated market with the right mix of experience, infrastructure and blockchain expertise,” Haun Ventures General Partner Diogo Monica said in the release. “With deep industry ties and a real plan for adoption, this isn’t just a bet on the future of gift cards — it’s an investment in a proven team solving a trillion-dollar problem.”

Raise created its mobile app and eCommerce marketplace to allow consumers to buy and sell gift cards from one another, thereby giving increased value to gift card buyers and sellers alike, Bousis told PYMNTS in an interview posted in 2017.

“In a lot of industries, there are hundreds of billions of dollars in cards sold every year, but much of it goes unspent, and this is designed to change that by giving cash to people who don’t want their gift cards,” Bousis said.