As the co-founder and former CTO of Starling Bank, Mark Hipperson is a leader in disrupting traditional banking.
Hipperson previously worked at Barclays as deputy CTO and Head of Technology for the Barclays Group. He then moved on to co-found Starling, where he helped secure the institution’s UK banking license with regulators, and obtained the initial $70 million of funding raised in December 2015. He was also responsible for the design, build, implementation, and support of the bank’s IT services platform, apps, and infrastructure.
He left Starling in 2016, leaving two years later to work on cryptocurrency platform Ziglu. The London-based platform raised £5.2 million in seed funding, and now—after a successful pilot phase—has officially launched.
The app will allow users to hold both fiat and up to four cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin & Bitcoin Cash—in an eWallet, connecting with crypto exchanges for in-app currency transfers and enabling spending via a Mastercard debit card. The platform is currently only available to clients with iOS mobile devices, but a version for Android is in the works.
“This launch marks the beginning of an exciting journey for Ziglu to deliver transformational financial services for our customers. By offering immediate and safe access to best-price crypto, customers can spend, exchange and send their money, regardless of the currency, where, when and how they want,” Hipperson said in a statement.
While Ziglu originally planned to launch in January with five major exchanges, it’s currently only connected to two because of disruptions caused by COVID-19. Hipperson declined to name the two exchanges the platform is working with, but did reveal that more exchanges will be added in the coming weeks.
The platform targets men aged 25 to 45, who Hipperson has said will be looking for “easy, safe access to crypto.” And with Ziglu able to offer cheaper rates for purchasing cryptocurrencies than many existing platforms, the company aims to process up to $1 billion in transactions in its first year and to expand from the UK to the US by the third quarter.
