SA’s MoneyBadger Lands USD 400 K Pre-Seed To Grow Bitcoin Retail Payments

MoneyBadger, the Cape Town-based crypto payments startup behind Pick n Pay’s Bitcoin till integration, has secured USD 400 K (~ZAR 7 M) in pre-seed funding to scale its merchant network. The round was led by P1 Ventures, alongside three crypto-savvy angel investors.

Founded in Stellenbosch in 2022 by Luno co-founder Carel van Wyk and FireWorks’ Carl Kritzinger, MoneyBadger lets consumers pay for groceries, airtime, electricity and more using Bitcoin, thanks to its integration with Lightning Network and local wallets like Luno, VALR, and Binance. The service now powers payments at over 1,600 Pick n Pay outlets.

With monthly crypto transaction volumes hitting USD 83 K, and Bitcoin adoption accelerating, MoneyBadger plans to expand into new retail categories and regions via key payment provider partnerships.

“We’re bridging crypto and traditional retail, not as a novelty, but as a better money alternative,” says Van Wyk. The funds will fuel merchant partnerships and African expansion.