NYDIG Acquires Bitcoin Lightning-Focused Startup, BottlePay

Popular cryptocurrency custody firm New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) recently revealed in an announcement that it has taken possession of the Bitcoin lightning-focused startup, BottlePay.

The company, however, did not disclose the exact amount that was spent in the acquisition.

The report revealed that NYDIG had previously invested in Bottlepay when the company was undergoing its $15.4-million seed funding round.

According to NYDIG, it acquired Bottlepay to integrate the company’s Lightning Network infrastructure into its already existing Bitcoin platform that has one of the highest security, regulatory, and operational standards.

Concerning the latest acquisition, Ross Stevens, founder and Executive Chairman of NYDIG, and also the company’s co-founder and CEO, Robert Gutmann, said,

“We believe that the next chapter of Bitcoin will be about Bitcoin – big B – the network.”

They continued,

“The Bottlepay team has built world-class infrastructure for Lightning and bitcoin payments, and they have done so with the same level of regulatory and compliance rigor that our customers expect from NYDIG today. NYDIG is on a mission to bring bitcoin to all, and this acquisition brings us one step closer to fulfilling that goal. We are excited to welcome Bottlepay to the NYDIG team.”

The newly acquired company was established in 2019 by Pete Cheyne. The company was created to solve what Cheyne addressed as “the greatest unsolved problem in finance,” through the use of Bitcoin’s Lightning Network.

After operating for a while, the company had to shut down on Dec. 31, 2019, due to a 5AMLD EU regulation that required companies like Bottle Pay that facilitated financial transactions to collect personal information from users.

Since Bottlepay believed that obeying that policy would negatively affect user experience, it chose to shut down.

However, on February 23 2021 after amending its business model to comply with the European Union’s 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, Bottlepay conducted its seed funding round in February led by British billionaire investor, Alan Howard.

Headed by Cheyne and its CEO, Malcolm Cowley, the company expressed its joy in merging with NYDIG and willingness to work together to “bring the transformative powers of Bitcoin and the Lightning Network to the world.”