The Stellar Development Foundation converted its $550,000 Series A pledge to SatoshiPay into a loan after the coronavirus pandemic derailed the funding round, providing the micropayments firm with 12 months of runway while it develops new B2B solutions.
SatoshiPay's Series A funding round collapsed in Q2 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, as investors pulled out and meetings became impossible. The Stellar Development Foundation, which had pledged $550,000 to the round, converted its investment into a loan denominated in XLM at a fixed exchange rate. CEO Meinhard Benn said the loan provides crucial cash flow for the next 12 months, especially after the company cut costs by 60% and implemented reduced working hours through Germany's Kurzarbeit scheme. Once the Series A eventually closes in 2021, SDF's loan will convert to an equity stake. SatoshiPay, which runs Stellar nodes and developed the Solar wallet, plans to use the delay to advance product development on a new B2B cross-border payments solution.