Y Combinator joins crypto app Pebble’s $6.2 million seed round

Pebble, a fintech startup whose crypto app seeks to bring about a “money revolution” by paying its users to save, spend and send money, has announced a $6.2 million seed funding round.

The platform’s financing round attracted investments from leading venture firms, including Y Combinator, the financial startup said on Monday.

Others to back Pebble’s mission are Lightshed Ventures, Soma Capital, Montage Ventures, Eniac Ventures, Global Founders Capital, and East Ventures.

Angel investors who joined the round included National Football League (NFL) star Odell Beckham Jr, Quantstamp CEO Richard Ma and Muse band’s lead singer Matthew Bellamy.

5% APY interest and 5% cashback

Pebble offers its customers a savings account through which they can earn 5% in interest. What happens is that the app converts users’ fiat deposits into the stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) and then lends the funds to regulated institutions. 

The borrowers pay a commission to access the loans, which are over-collateralized by 150% and according to the startup, all the processes are off-chain.

Apart from the 5% APY rewards, Pebble customers also have the benefit of a 5% cashback program, which is open to all transactions recorded across 56 partner merchants. Some of the big names in this program include Amazon, Uber, Chipotle, and Airbnb.

Pebble offers unlimited 5% cash back at our 56 partnered merchants such as Uber, Amazon, Chipotle, Airbnb, Southwest Airlines, and more — with plans to expand our offerings later this year. Cash back gets paid out instantly as you spend, and goes back into your wallet to earn 5%!

— Pebble (@Pebble_HQ) May 23, 2022

Other features available with the app include payroll connection and bill management. Users also benefit from flexible and seamless functionality via mobile access.