Conio, an Italian bitcoin wallet, has announced that it has raised $3 million in a Series A2 round. Founded by Christian Miccoli and Vincenzo Di Nicola, the startup is now valued at more than $40 million.

Funding research and development activities

The company has indicated that the capital raised will be used to fund its research and development programs. Research will be launched in areas that are related to digital currencies. Some of these areas include e-commerce, telecoms, insurance, and smart contracts among others.

Founded in 2015, the company is currently among the leading Fintech companies throughout Europe and serves banks, financial institutions and insurance companies. The company offers integrated solutions that are used by clients to manage digital assets.

Additionally, the company has a mobile app that allows holding, buying and selling of Bitcoin. Conio’s wallets and solutions are offered in private and white labels and can be used together with financial applications offered by commercial banks.

The future of cryptocurrencies

In a statement, founder Vincenzo Di Nicola indicated that blockchain is a growing industry and that cryptocurrecies will make a big contribution in financial systems of the future. He also said that the sector is facing challenges at the moment, which are common with any disruptive technology.

On his side, Christian Miccoli noted that the Conio Project has received a lot of support from the company’s shareholders plus many professional investors. This, he says, is a big testimony to the credibility of the project. Miccoli said that the money collected will further boost the company’s development of its service offering so as to be in a better position to support both retail and corporate customers. He added that with the proper resources, the company will present itself as a strong partner to banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions.

Apart from the two co-founders, some of the leading shareholders in the company are David Capital, the Italian Angels for Growth network, Boost Heroes, Fabrick, Banca Finanziaria Internazionale, Poste Italiane plus a group of professional investors.

Fabio Cannavale from Boost Heroes said that the mission will be to boost and support innovation by making it easy for startups to engage with one another.