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South Africa : MoneyBadger raises $400K to scale Bitcoin payments

On July 16, 2025, South African crypto-payments startup MoneyBadger, co-founded by Luno’s Carel van Wyk, secured $400,000 in pre-seed funding led by P1 Ventures. The funds will expand its Bitcoin payment network—using QR codes and Lightning—across 1,600+ retail points like Pick n Pay. Part of the investment was made in bitcoin.