Kulipa, a Paris-based infrastructure provider for fintechs and crypto wallets to issue stablecoin-backed debit cards, has raised $6.2M in seed funding co-led by Flourish Ventures and 1kx, with participation from White Star Capital and Fabric Ventures. The platform enables self-custodial and custodial wallets to offer physical and virtual Visa/Mastercard cards, virtual accounts, and global payments across 100+ countries without prefunding. The capital will fund engineering hires, GTM expansion, AI operations, and U.S. market entry via a BIN sponsor.
Crypto Cards Hit $18B Annualized Spend
Kulipa's raise times a surge in crypto debit card usage, reaching $18B annualized as stablecoin volumes shift toward everyday payments. Mastercard recently acquired stablecoin payments provider BVNK for up to $1.8B, signaling big tech's push into the space. Competitors like Striga and Zumo offer crypto BaaS with card issuance, but focus more on custodial models. Kulipa differentiates with true self-custodial support via Just-In-Time approval tech.
Stablecoins Settle $300B Daily Untapped
Stablecoins now command a $300B market cap, with projections to $1T by late 2026 and $33T in 2025 transaction volume per Plasma. Yet real-world spending remains fragmented, requiring prefunding, complex settlements, and compliance hurdles for wallets. Traditional issuers demand collateral, locking capital and raising costs. This gap leaves 1.3B unbanked users without seamless access to stablecoin utility.
JIT Approval Enables Self-Custodial Cards
Kulipa's APIs handle card issuance, embedded wallets, KYC/AML compliance, and stablecoin payments with Apple/Google Pay support. Proprietary Just-In-Time (JIT) and Cooperative Approval mechanisms eliminate prefunding for self-custodial debit cards, cutting costs 10x versus legacy rails. Since February 2025 launch, the platform has issued over 120k cards to 20 customers including Flutterwave, Solflare, and Ready, achieving 70% MoM transaction volume growth.
As CEO Axel Cateland explained to The Block:
"All the complexity behind the scenes —payment processing, fraud management, pre-fundings, and settlement — is handled by us."
Fintech-Crypto VCs Bet on Rails
Flourish Ventures, with portfolio hits like Chime ($25B+ valuation) and Flutterwave (unicorn), co-led alongside 1kx, backer of wallet infrastructure like Safe. White Star Capital's digital assets fund and Fabric Ventures, early investors in Wise and Revolut, joined the round. This mix signals conviction in Kulipa bridging crypto liquidity to fiat spend amid MiCA regulations. Total funding now reaches $9.2M following a $3M pre-seed.
Kulipa CTO Michael Shynar noted:
“We’ve designed a white-label solution that allows for a quick integration, with customization options to make each card issuance unique to their consumer base.”
MiCA Unlocks $18B Card Opportunity
The crypto-backed debit card market stood at $5B in 2024 with a 25% CAGR ahead, fueled by stablecoin adoption and card network partnerships like Mastercard's Crypto Partner Program, which Kulipa joined. EU's MiCA framework aids compliant issuance, while U.S. GENIUS Act discussions open new doors. Kulipa covers 100+ countries, targeting remittances, payroll, and neobanks.
Ex-Spendesk, Google Founders Lead
CEO Axel Cateland previously served as CEO of Spendesk Financial Services and Head of Banking at the French unicorn Spendesk. CTO Michael Shynar was a Staff Software Engineer at Google (Great Manager award) and Sr. Engineering Manager at WhatsApp Commerce. Co-founder Karl V built core banking at Spendesk with recent Solidity training. This team blend delivers fintech execution and big tech scale.
U.S. Entry Powers Team to 30
Plans include U.S. expansion through a confidential BIN sponsor, engineering and GTM hires, and growing from 27 to 30 employees. Partnerships with Argent (first zk-powered debit card), Mastercard Start Path, and recent Flutterwave collaboration target Africa merchants. Revenue from services and interchange supports AI-driven efficiency gains over traditional issuers.