Kulipa Raises $6.2 Million to Expand Stablecoin Card Payments Across Africa, Other Markets

Kulipa, a Paris-based stablecoin card issuing platform, has raised $6.2 million in seed funding to expand its infrastructure and support global growth.

The round was co-led by Flourish Ventures and 1kx, with backing from White Star Capital and Fabric Ventures. With this, the company’s total funding now stands at $9.2 million.

Kulipa builds payment infrastructure that allows fintech companies to issue cards funded directly from stablecoin balances. These cards can be used anywhere card networks are accepted, including for everyday purchases and ATM withdrawals.

Stablecoins already handle more than $300 billion in daily settlements, but their use in everyday payments is still limited. The systems that connect blockchain-based transactions to traditional card networks are still fragmented and usually require large upfront capital.

Kulipa says its platform removes some of these limitations. It verifies balances and settles transactions onchain, reducing the need for prefunding.

At the same time, it takes on fraud liability for issued cards, which lowers operational pressure for its partners.

“Stablecoins have proven their value as a settlement layer, but using them in everyday financial products is still early,” said Axel Cateland, Founder and CEO of Kulipa.

“Card issuance is the bridge between onchain balances and real-world payments. We built Kulipa to give regulated fintech platforms the compliant, capital-efficient infrastructure they need to operate at global scale.”

The company operates what it describes as a local-first model, with regulatory coverage across the European Union, Argentina and Nigeria. It is also working on expansion into the United States through BIN sponsorship.

Kulipa launched its infrastructure in February 2025 and since then, it has issued more than 120,000 cards and signed 20 customers. These include Flutterwave, Solflare, nSave and Ready.

The company also reports a 70% month-on-month increase in transaction volume.

“At Flutterwave, we’re focused on building payment infrastructure that works across markets at scale. As stablecoins become a more practical settlement option, it’s important that businesses can turn those balances into real-world spending,” said Olugbenga Agboola, Founder & CEO of Flutterwave.

“Partnering with Kulipa allows us to extend stablecoin value into globally accepted payments in a compliant, scalable way.”

“Kulipa has enabled Ready to become an onchain alternative to banks,” said Itamar Lesuisse, CEO of Ready. “With their infrastructure, we can issue globally accepted cards directly from stablecoin balances, giving our users seamless access to everyday spending in a compliant and scalable way.”

Kulipa was founded in 2023 by a team with experience across payments, compliance and technology. Cateland previously worked on Apple Pay and Google Pay deployments at Mastercard.

Co-founder and CTO Michael Shynar has worked at WhatsApp and Google, while Head of Compliance Benoit Roger brings experience from Binance and Nickel Bank.

Investors say the company is addressing a key gap in the market.

“We’re seeing stablecoins moving beyond cross-border settlement and becoming part of real financial infrastructure,” said Ameya Upadhyay, General Partner, Flourish Ventures.

“The missing piece has been compliant, scalable card issuance. Kulipa fills that gap by combining capital efficiency with multi-region regulatory coverage, enabling fintech platforms to bring stablecoin settlement into everyday payments.”

1kx Founding Partner Christopher Heymann added, “Stablecoins are reshaping how money moves globally, but for mainstream adoption, people need to spend them as easily as they spend fiat. 

“Kulipa meets users where they already are, starting with the card in their wallet, and gives businesses a turnkey way to offer that experience. We believe this payments layer is critical infrastructure for the next phase of crypto adoption.”

Kulipa says it will use the new funding to strengthen its infrastructure and support more fintech platforms looking to offer stablecoin-based payments at scale.

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