Satoshi Citadel Industries

Satoshi Citadel Industries Inc.
Industry Financial Technology
Founded 2014
Founders
  • John Bailon
  • Miguel Cuneta
  • Jardine Gerodias
Headquarters Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
Area served
Philippines
Website sci.ph

Satoshi Citadel Industries is a Financial Technology startup company building Blockchain services and products for the purpose of financial inclusion in the Philippines. It was founded by Filipino entrepreneurs John Bailon, Miguel Cuneta, and Jardine Gerodias in March 2014, and is headquartered in Makati in Metro Manila, Philippines. It is responsible for the establishment of multiple products and services in the Philippine blockchain and bitcoin industry.[1]

History

Satoshi Citadel Industries (SCI) was founded by John Bailon, Miguel Cuneta, and Jardine Gerodias in the first quarter of 2014. The founders identified a need for alternative mobile payment solutions due to lack of existing infrastructure in the Philippines, and decided to use blockchain technology, specifically Bitcoin, as a platform for their services.

Growth and Expansion

2014

By August 2014, the company developed six bitcoin ventures: Digital payment service provider Bitmarket.ph, which enables Philippine merchants to accept digital payments,[2] Bitcoin Remittance company Rebit.ph, which allows people to remit money to the Philippines using Bitcoin, allowing them to save money on remittances,[3] Bitcoin Faucet/social media service Bitstars.ph, a website that rewards users with Bitcoin for submitting photos [4] Bitcoin exchange Coinage.ph, the first enterprise-grade orderbook exchange in the Philippines,[5] the Philippines' first Bitcoin bills payment service[6] Bills.ninja, and Prepaid Bitcoin stored value card provider Prepaidbitcoin.ph.

2015

In April 2015, the company successfully acquired[7] Buybitcoin.ph, the first Philippine Bitcoin exchange, and retained Buybitcoin's CEO Sam Kaddoura as its new CFO.[8] One month later, in May 2015, the company announced that healthcare entrepreneur Jose Maristela had invested an additional US$105,000 in SCI as a part of their on-going seed round of funding.[9] By June 2015, SCI had consolidated their verticals into four key products: Rebit.ph, Bitmarket.ph, BuyBitcoin.ph, and Bitbit.cash. "Bitbit" is a mobile money wallet powered by Bitcoin technology, which connects consumers to the Bitcoin network through an iOS or Android app.

2016

In June 2016, the company announced that it had closed its seed round of funding with a major investment from K Venture Group,[10] the venture capital arm of Kakao, South Korea's largest mobile chat app company with 100 million users.

In August 2016, the company successfully acquired[11] KEZA, a Silicon Valley based Bitcoin startup that allows users to invest in stock markets using Bitcoin.

References

  1. "Making Satoshi Proud: This Bitcoin umbrella firm has released six companies in three months". Tech in Asia - Asia Tech News for the World. TechinAsia. 20 August 2014.
  2. "This startup taps into Bitcoin to offer better payment options for merchants in the Philippines". Tech in Asia - Asia Tech News for the World. TechinAsia. 30 May 2014.
  3. "Uniting separated families with "rebittances": Interview with Filipino company Satoshi Citadel Industries". Cointelegraph - Live cryptocurrency news and opinions. 17 November 2014.
  4. "Bitstars.ph 'Selfie' Contests Reward Winners with Bitcoin". CoinDesk is the world leader in news, prices and information on bitcoin and other digital currencies. 31 July 2014.
  5. "Coinage.ph: Coinage Launches first PH order-book Bitcoin Exchange". Sun.Star website empowers Philippine communities by providing news and information from the provinces to a national and global audience. 12 October 2014.
  6. "Pay your bills with bitcoin when in manila". When in Manila - Lifestyle, Travel, Philippine News and Manila Trends. 14 August 2014.
  7. "Satoshi Citadel Industries acquires BuyBitcoin". Tech in Asia - Asia Tech News for the World. 13 April 2015.
  8. "BuyBitcoin.ph: A Philippine Bitcoin exchange arrives". RAPPLER - News, Social Media, Citizen Journalism, Multimedia. 13 January 2014.
  9. "BPO founder invests $100k in PH fintech startup SCI". News and Intellignce Platform on Doing Business in Southeast Asia. 12 May 2015.
  10. "Bitcoin startup Satoshi Citadel gets funding from Kakao's investment arm". Tech in Asia - Asia Tech News for the World. TechinAsia. 9 June 2016.
  11. "Satoshi Citadel Industries KEZA acquisition". Tech in Asia - Asia Tech News for the World. 13 April 2015.
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