Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
What do you do if you’ve built a crypto startup, and you look around, and all you see are dumpster fires? You pivot fast, or you wait it out.
Why it matters: The crypto contagion is spreading fast and forcing many companies connected to the space to rethink or rebrand.
Driving the news: Zurp, a neobank for fans to earn points to use on creators, announced that it raised $5 million in pre-seed funding.
Of note: Originally conceived as a crypto company when it raised the capital, Zurp pivoted its focus to traditional fintech after the crash. It won’t be alone.
Details: “We were originally building a crypto company in the DeFi space,” co-CEO Troy Osinoff tells Lucinda. “When we saw the writing on the walls with Luna, we decided to do a hard pivot.”
- Zurp raised part of that $5 million in November 2021, when the company was still focused on selling a DeFi yield product. Shortly before launching, Luna-tied Terra USD came crashing down in spring 2022.
- Investors in the round included New Form, Launchpad VC, OVO Fund, Darling Ventures and Animal Capital.
How it…