Raise Integrates Crypto into Gift Card Platform

Raise, the company behind the popular gift card purchasing app, is starting to integrate crypto further into its platform.

The firm has partnered with Wallet Connect to add support for a wide range of popular digital wallets — including MetaMask, Phantom, and Coinbase Wallet — and begin accepting ETH, DOT, BTC, and SOL tokens, as well as USDC and USDT stablecoins as forms of payment.

Founded in 2012, Raise has over six million customers and direct partnerships with over 1,000 major retailers, facilitating over $10 billion in transactions through its consumer app, exchange, and B2B operations.

“The plan is to expand rapidly into a bunch of other tokens and currencies into the future,” George Bousis, CEO of Raise, told The Block. He added that the firm expects major blockchain-related announcements soon, focusing initially on larger cryptocurrencies.

Users will be able to import their non-custodial wallets directly into the Raise app to pay for anything in real-time, allowing users to book an Uber ride with ETH, buy groceries using USDC, or book an Airbnb with Bitcoin.

Bousis mentioned that these crypto transactions will not incur a fee at launch, thanks to arrangements with retailers. “We’re using the gift card rails that were directly integrated with all the retailers to spin up a gift card at the time of purchase via crypto,” he explained. The product has been live for a select group of users during A/B testing and has received positive feedback.

Raise will promote the new crypto payment options in-app through banners and placements, aiming to drive more liquidity into their ecosystem, with plans to expand on the B2B side as well.

Additionally, Raise is working directly with crypto foundations and protocols for promotions that offer users cashback when using native tokens, like earning up to 20% cash back on purchases in DOT when integrating the Polkadot Pay app.

The goal is to spread its crypto payment options to 30 countries by the end of the year.

Earlier Experiments

In the past, Bousis attempted to build on Bitcoin, but found it slow and expensive. The same challenges arose with Ethereum’s initial launch in 2015, which piqued his interest in smart contracts. He noted, “The gift card space today sees a trillion dollars of transactions a year, so from a TPS standpoint and an infra standpoint, it just wasn’t possible.”

Today, Bousis believes technology has advanced, mentioning the firm’s development of a private-public hybrid blockchain for managing gift cards and store credits on-chain. This will offer retailers control and visibility over customer data and eliminate intermediaries between brands and consumers.

He also emphasized the programmability of smart contracts, providing targeted rebates or deals based on weather conditions.

Bousis believes retail payments are crypto’s first use cases, stating, “The only way we’re going to get mass crypto adoption is when people are using it without realizing that they’re using crypto rails or blockchain-based technologies.”