WeFunder, a crowdfunding platform for startups that has funded 134 projects to date, has partnered with payment processor BitPay to give investors the option of backing their favorite startups with Bitcoin.
Until May 16th of 2015, only accredited investors in the United States were able to participate in equity crowdfunding of American startups, but the passage of the new rules in Title III of the JOBS Act opened up the field to non-accredited investors as well.
The partnership between WeFunder and BitPay opens up the equity crowdfunding space even further to the global Bitcoin community, which numbers in the millions. New and existing WeFunder users who are not domiciled in the United States will also be able to save on wire transfer fees, according to BitPay:
“Since bitcoin works everywhere the internet is available, WeFunder investors will be able to save on the costs of wire transfers. That means WeFunder and its platform companies gain a better way to reach international investors and the bitcoin community around the world.”
Today’s announcement from BitPay comes only one day after Airbitz - a San Diego-based startup that developed the Edge-Security platform, which allows users to access blockchain apps via a single barcode scan on their mobile - announced its 30-day equity crowdfunding campaign on WeFunder. Airbitz is the first blockchain-focused startup to seek funding under the new regulations in the JOBS Act:
"And to add to the historic nature of our offering, we worked closely with Wefunder and Bitpay to ensure that crypto lovers would be able to invest in Airbitz – and every other company on Wefunder – using Bitcoin instead of fiat currency."
