Merge secured a $9.5 million seed round led by Octopus Ventures.

Merge, a London, UK-based software startup developing a banking and payments platform for crypto and web3 companies, announced closing a seed funding round at $9.5 million.

The money was raised from investors led by UK-based VC Octopus Ventures, and joined by Hashed, Coinbase Ventures, Alameda Research and Ethereal Ventures. Other investors included Stani Kulechov, the founder of Aave, and Pascal Gauthier, CEO of Ledger.

Merge, founded in 2021 by CEO Kebbie Sebastian (ex Penser Uk), is working for the development of an API-based banking and payments platform, bridging the gap between fiat and crypto ecosystems. The company says it aims to address the struggle that many companies in the crypto economy face in being able to access traditional financial services without the hefty fees and poor functionality that are usually associated with these services.

Through a single API, Merge provides crypto and web3 companies with a range of banking and payments solutions enabling them to instantly create bank accounts, send payments and seamlessly convert funds between fiat and crypto.