Philippine Bitcoin fintech startup Satoshi Citadel Industries has raised a seed round from K Venture Group (KVG), the investment arm of South Korea internet company Kakao Corporation.

The amount of the investment was not disclosed.

Founded in 2014 with the aim of becoming the ecosystem for Bitcoin in the Philippines, Satoshi Citadel operates a number of related sites, including Rebit.ph, a remittance service for the Philippines that charges zero service fees or hidden fees, with the ability of “Rebitters” being able to choose to pay out in cash within 24 hours via major banks and local pawnshop networks, or in kind via mobile airtime load and bills payment; and BuyBitcoin.ph, which as the name may suggest is a fiat money to Bitcoin exchange catering for a Filipino audience.

Bitbit, an e-wallet that will allow users to send, receive and share money with friends and family over email, mobile and social media, is currently in development.

“We like to think of ourselves as the last mile in Bitcoin service delivery” Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer Miguel Cuneta explained to SiliconANGLE at the Rise Conference in Hong Kong in 2015.

“10 percent of Filipino’s work overseas, with many of them sending money home to family and loved ones. We offer a cheap and convenient way to have those funds remitted by those on the receiving end.”

Scott Kwon, KVG’s Principal Partner, told South Korea’s Econotimes that in parts of Southeast Asia, the banking sector is one of the inconvenient sectors, noting that with “Satoshi Citadel using the power of Bitcoin and the blockchain technology, provides an innovative solution to the problems.”

“KVG will support SCI through synergies with Kakao and its other business assets and connections with its network of global partners,” he added.

Going places

The investment in Satoshi Citadel is a definite sign of support for a company that is definitely going places by catering to a market that is ripe with potential for Bitcoin-related services as a large number of people within the country simply don’t have access to banking services.

Remittances from foreign workers into the Philippines also came to a staggering $28.5 billion in 2015; if Satoshi Citadel can grab even a small slice of this market, it’s going to be a billion dollar business.

While the new funding was undisclosed, Satoshi Citadel had previously raised $100,000

The company said it would use the new funds to strengthen its technology, grow its team, and expand its number of partners worldwide.

Image credit: Satoshi Citadel/ screenshot