European investment app Lightyear completes $23 million in funding and plans to launch its own crypto product

PANews reported on July 24 that according to CNBC, European investment application Lightyear announced the completion of a new round of financing of US$23 million, led by NordicNinja and followed by Markus Villig, co-founder of the taxi giant Bolt. Other investors include Wise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus, former Checkout.com CTO Ott Kaukver and other Estonian technology professionals. According to people familiar with the matter, after this round of financing, Lightyear's valuation reached US$200 million to US$300 million, a significant increase from the financing in 2022.

Founded in 2021 by former Wise employees Martin Sokk and Mihkel Aamer, Lightyear's app provides commission-free trading of more than 5,000 stocks, ETFs, and money market funds worldwide, and currently covers 25 countries. The company is committed to building a "European version of Robinhood" and plans to launch its own cryptocurrency product within two months.