Azteco Secures $6 Million in Funding Led by Jack Dorsey

Santa Monica’s Azteco recently received a significant boost in their bid to promote Bitcoin‘s use, garnering $6 million in investment. Leading this round was none other than the CEO of Block Inc., Jack Dorsey.

Jack Dorsey, known to many as the former Twitter CEO, isn’t supporting Azteco on a whim. He recognizes the profound potential the company holds in transforming the financial world for the unbanked. For Dorsey, the tools to enact this change exist, and Azteco is leveraging them effectively.

Central to Azteco’s strategy are Bitcoin gift cards. By integrating these cards, the company wants to place Bitcoin on the same pedestal as conventional currencies, like the US dollar. In the words of Azteco’s CEO, Akin Fernandez, the company is passionate about ensuring that spending Bitcoin becomes as commonplace as spending traditional money.

However, Fernandez also acknowledges a significant concern in the current financial system. When currency issuance relies too heavily on a single entity, it can introduce vulnerabilities. The centralized nature of traditional currencies can, at times, breed corruption.

Addressing this, Azteco has proposed a solution. Rather than central banks or institutions, a computer program should control the currency. This would allow Bitcoin to stand as a financially impartial, global synthetic currency. The reach of such a system could be vast.

Presently, Azteco has a presence in almost 600,000 payment points spanning nearly 200 nations. Fernandez accentuates the potential of such a vast network. Take the U.S., for instance. As of 2021, 4.5% of households had no ties with banking institutions. This cut them off from e-commerce platforms like Amazon and denied them online banking benefits. Bitcoin, with its universal access, can be the bridge for these households, offering a smooth, fraud-proof transactional experience.