$63M Investment Fuels Raise’s Blockchain-Powered Smart Cards

Raise, a Chicago-based pioneer in the global gift card market, has secured a monumental $63 million investment to propel its blockchain-powered Smart Cards initiative, as announced on February 26, 2025, via a press release on PR Newswire and reported by news.bitcoin.com. Led by Haun Ventures and backed by heavyweights like PayPal, Accel, and New Enterprise Associates (NEA), this funding round brings Raise’s total capital to over $220 million, underscoring investor confidence in its vision to revolutionize the $2.3 trillion gift card industry by 2030, per Capital One estimates cited by paymentsdive.com. The Smart Cards program aims to transform traditional gift cards into secure, programmable, and fraud-resistant digital assets on the blockchain, enhancing consumer trust, retailer loyalty, and payment efficiency. With Bitcoin trading at $81,754 and the crypto market embracing real-world utility as of March 19, 2025, Raise’s initiative signals a pivotal moment for blockchain’s integration into mainstream retail. In this extensive article, we’ll delve into the details of the $63 million raise, the Smart Cards’ innovative features, Raise’s strategic roadmap, and the far-reaching implications for the gift card ecosystem, blockchain technology, and global commerce.

The $63M Funding Round: A Game-Changing Milestone

Raise’s latest funding round, closed on February 26, 2025, marks a significant leap forward for the company, which has been reshaping the gift card landscape since its founding in 2013 by CEO George Bousis. The $63 million injection, detailed across sources like coindesk.com, pymnts.com, and technews180.com, reflects a strategic push to scale its blockchain-based Smart Cards system and expand the Retail Alliance Foundation—a nonprofit coalition aimed at uniting global retailers under a secure, interoperable gift card network. This round builds on prior investments from PayPal, Accel, and NEA, bringing Raise’s total funding to over $220 million, a figure confirmed by ffnews.com and theblock.co.

Key Investors and Their Confidence

• Haun Ventures: Leading the round, Haun Ventures’ General Partner Diogo Monica praised Raise’s approach, stating, “Raise is seizing a massive, outdated market with the right mix of experience, infrastructure, and blockchain expertise,” per PR Newswire. This crypto-focused firm’s involvement signals strong belief in blockchain’s retail potential.
• PayPal and Legacy Backers: PayPal’s continued support, alongside Accel and NEA, leverages Raise’s decade-long partnership history, per coindesk.com, aligning with its $5 billion in transactions for 7 million users and 1,000+ brands, per morningstar.com.
• Crypto and Web3 Players: Participation from Amber Group, Borderless Capital, GSR, the Web3 Foundation, and angels like Raj Gokal (Solana co-founder) and Tekin Salimi highlights blockchain-native optimism, per technews180.com and finance.yahoo.com.

Posts on X celebrated the raise, with users noting “$63M for Raise’s Smart Cards could flip the gift card game,” reflecting community excitement over its blockchain-driven vision.

Financial Context and Valuation

While Raise declined to disclose the exact valuation, Bousis told Fortune (finance.yahoo.com) that it exceeds the company’s 2021 Series D valuation of $675 million, per PitchBook. The round included primary and secondary share sales plus token warrants—a nod to a potential future cryptocurrency—blending traditional and crypto financing, per theblock.co. This structure positions Raise to capitalize on both equity growth and blockchain ecosystem incentives.

What Are Raise’s Blockchain-Powered Smart Cards?

Raise’s Smart Cards represent a paradigm shift in the gift card industry, transforming them from static, plastic-based tools into dynamic, blockchain-backed digital assets. Detailed across sources like bitcoinworld.co.in and crypto-news.net, Smart Cards leverage blockchain’s transparency, security, and programmability to address longstanding issues—fraud, limited usability, and untapped value—in the $2.3 trillion gift card market projected for 2030, per ffnews.com.

Innovative Features of Smart Cards

• Security via Blockchain: Each Smart Card is tokenized as a unique, immutable asset on the blockchain, preventing duplication or unauthorized use, a critical upgrade over traditional cards vulnerable to $100 million+ annual fraud losses, per ProPublica cited by finance.yahoo.com.
• Programmability: Unlike conventional gift cards, Smart Cards can embed smart contracts, enabling features like time-based redemption, spending limits, or conditional usage (e.g., event-triggered rewards), per bitcoinworld.co.in and coindesk.com.
• Interoperability: Through partnerships like WalletConnect and Polkadot’s DOT Wallet, Smart Cards integrate with digital wallets (Coinbase, MetaMask, Phantom), per prnewswire.com, fostering seamless use across platforms.
• Real-Time Tracking: Blockchain ensures transparent, auditable transaction records, enhancing trust for consumers and retailers, per techcompanynews.com.
• Loyalty Integration: Smart Cards double as a “programmable retail currency,” per Bousis on coindesk.com, strengthening brand loyalty via customizable rewards tied to consumer behavior.

How Smart Cards Work

Raise’s system, as explained by Bousis to Fortune, operates as follows: Consumers buy Smart Cards from participating retailers, depositing funds with Raise. These funds are held in escrow using stablecoins—cryptocurrencies pegged to the U.S. dollar—then transferred to retailers via ACH or stablecoin upon redemption, per finance.yahoo.com. This blockchain backbone simplifies settlement, cuts costs, and mitigates fraud, contrasting with the complex, regulation-heavy traditional infrastructure, per Bousis.

Strategic Vision and Use of Funds

Raise’s $63 million raise isn’t just capital—it’s fuel for a multi-year, nine-figure commitment to reconfigure the gift card industry, as Bousis told PR Newswire. With over $25 million already invested from its balance sheet since 2022, per finance.yahoo.com, Raise is now accelerating its vision.

Developing the Smart Cards Ecosystem

• Technology Scaling: Funds will enhance the Smart Cards platform, integrating with Citi Bank, BILT Rewards, and WalletConnect for broader adoption, per morningstar.com and techcompanynews.com.
• Retail Alliance Foundation: Raise seeded this nonprofit with intellectual property via BFG Labs (a subsidiary), aiming to standardize a fraud-resistant, interoperable gift card network across global brands, per ffnews.com and crypto-news.net.
• Global Expansion: Following its UK and Canada app launch in November 2024, per paymentsdive.com, Raise plans further international rollout, targeting the $3.09 trillion gift card market by 2030, per Capital One.

Leadership and Expertise

Raise bolstered its board with industry titans, per coindesk.com and dmnews.com:

• Marco Santori: Former CLO at Kraken and President of Blockchain.com.
• George Ruan: Co-founder and ex-CEO of Honey (acquired by PayPal).
• Matt Maloney: Founder and ex-CEO of Grubhub.
• Björn Wagner: CEO of Parity Technologies (Polkadot).

This lineup, per technews180.com, equips Raise to navigate blockchain, retail, and regulatory landscapes, ensuring strategic execution.

The Gift Card Industry: A Trillion-Dollar Opportunity

The global gift card market, valued at $1 trillion+ annually and projected to hit $2.3-$3.09 trillion by 2030, per ffnews.com and paymentsdive.com, is ripe for disruption. Raise, with $5 billion in transactions across 7 million users and 1,000+ brands like DoorDash and Uber, per morningstar.com, is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation.

Challenges in the Current Market

• Fraud Epidemic: Chinese crime rings drain hundreds of millions yearly, per ProPublica, with Maryland passing anti-fraud laws in 2024, per finance.yahoo.com.
• Unspent Value: $15-$20 billion in gift cards go unredeemed annually, per Bousis in a 2017 PYMNTS interview, representing lost value for consumers and retailers.
• Legacy Systems: Complex payment rails increase costs and risks, per Bousis on coindesk.com, hindering efficiency.

Smart Cards as the Solution

Smart Cards tackle these issues head-on:

• Fraud Resistance: Immutable blockchain records thwart theft, per bitcoinworld.co.in.
• Value Utilization: Programmability encourages spending, per techcompanynews.com.
• Cost Efficiency: Blockchain cuts settlement overhead, per finance.yahoo.com.

Posts on X laud this as “gift cards 2.0,” with users noting “Raise’s $63M raise could make every card a loyalty powerhouse.”

Impact on Blockchain and Retail Ecosystems

Blockchain Adoption in Retail

• Mainstream Utility: Raise’s Smart Cards bring blockchain to everyday consumers, aligning with trends like BlackRock’s $1 billion BUIDL fund, per earlier analyses, and Tunisia’s education blockchain, per coingeek.com.
• Web3 Integration: Partnerships with Polkadot and WalletConnect tie Smart Cards to the $150 billion stablecoin market, per DefiLlama, per techcompanynews.com.
• Regulatory Readiness: Bousis waited for “technological maturity and regulatory frameworks,” per PR Newswire, leveraging 2025’s clearer U.S. crypto stance under Trump, per Bloomberg.

Retail and Loyalty Transformation

• Brand Engagement: Programmable rewards deepen customer relationships, per coindesk.com, turning gift cards into loyalty tools.
• Network Effects: The Retail Alliance Foundation’s 1,000+ brand network could standardize blockchain gift cards, per ffnews.com.
• Consumer Trust: Fraud reduction and transparency boost confidence, per bitcoinworld.co.in.

Crypto Market Sentiment

• Bullish Signals: X posts link Raise’s raise to $90,000 BTC and $2,500 ETH forecasts, per earlier analyses, reflecting optimism in real-world blockchain use.
• Stablecoin Synergy: Smart Cards’ stablecoin escrow ties to Ethena’s $540 million USDtb, per tradingview.com, enhancing crypto utility.

Challenges and Risks Ahead

Regulatory Hurdles

While Bousis cites a supportive 2025 framework, per coindesk.com, evolving U.S. ESG rules or SEC oversight could impose costs, per crypto-news.net. Raise’s institutional ties (Citi, PayPal) mitigate this, per techcompanynews.com.

Technical Scalability

Scaling to millions of daily transactions requires robust blockchain infrastructure. MegaETH’s 100,000 TPS testnet, per cointelegraph.com, offers a benchmark, but Raise must ensure reliability, per speculative analysis.

Market Competition

Rivals like Blackhawk Network or InComm Payments could counter with their own blockchain solutions, per industry trends. Raise’s first-mover advantage and $220 million war chest provide a buffer, per theblock.co.

Consumer Adoption

Educating 7 million users on blockchain-based cards poses a challenge, though integrations with familiar wallets ease the transition, per morningstar.com.

Opportunities for Stakeholders

Retailers

• Loyalty Gains: Programmable Smart Cards boost retention, per coindesk.com.
• Fraud Savings: Blockchain cuts losses, per bitcoinworld.co.in.

Consumers

• Enhanced Value: Flexible, secure cards maximize utility, per pymnts.com.
• Ease of Use: WalletConnect integration simplifies adoption, per techcompanynews.com.

Investors

• Raise Valuation: $675 million+ could double if Smart Cards dominate, per X sentiment.
• Crypto Upside: Ties to BTC ($90,000 target) and stablecoins offer exposure, per earlier analyses.

The Road Ahead

Raise’s plans include:

• 2025-2026: Scale Smart Cards and Retail Alliance, targeting 10 million users, per speculative goals.
• 2027: Nine-figure investment peaks, aiming for $1 billion in annual Smart Card volume, per Bousis’ vision on PR Newswire.
• 2030: Lead the $3.09 trillion market with a fully onchain gift card ecosystem, per paymentsdive.com.

Conclusion

Raise’s $63 million investment, announced on February 26, 2025, fuels its blockchain-powered Smart Cards, poised to transform the $2.3 trillion gift card industry with security, programmability, and loyalty innovation. Backed by Haun Ventures, PayPal, and a stellar board, Raise bridges retail and blockchain, leveraging 2025’s crypto momentum—BTC at $81,754 and growing Web3 adoption. For retailers, consumers, and investors, it’s a bold step toward a fraud-free, value-driven future. Stay tuned to blogfinance.online for updates on Raise, Smart Cards, and blockchain trends!