Bitcoin startup CoinPlus raises over $220,000 in seed round

Bitcoin payment-processing and currency exchange startup CoinPlus announced yesterday that it had raised €172,500 ($220,000) in its seed funding round. The Luxembourg-based company launched in early July following legal clarifications of bitcoin’s status in the country by the Commission de surveillance du secteur financier (CSSF) in February. No list of investors has been published, and another investment round is already in the works/

“We are aware that there are still a number of steps to take before reaching the Grail, but we are optimistic and foresee another funding round in 2014,” CoinPlus CEO Christian Bodt told Luxembourg’s Chronicle. “The choice of Luxembourg was obvious to us. The country offers state-of-the-art technical and administrative infrastructures, providers at the forefront of technology, the proximity of the government and great open-mindedness. The Luxembourg market is also a safe bet for all the players in the financial world.”

CoinPlus has yet to receive official approval from the CSSF, although it will meet with the regulatory body later this month. The CSSF’s approval of bitcoin businesses has thus far been on a case-by-case basis, inviting such businesses to apply earlier this year. Luxembourg has a long history of banking secrecy and is widely viewed as one of the biggest tax havens in the world, making bitcoin’s much commented-upon pseudo-anonymity seem like a natural fit.