Encryption startup Juno completes $18 million in Series A financing and launches native token "JCOIN"

This article comes fromThe Block, original author: Yogita Khatri

Odaily Translator | Nian Yin Si Tang

Summary:

This article comes from

, original author: Yogita Khatri

Odaily Translator | Nian Yin Si Tang

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Summary:- Juno, a startup offering crypto-friendly checking accounts, announced it has raised $18 million.- The company also launched a native token for its tokenized loyalty program and airdropped the token to existing users.

Juno, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency company that offers checking accounts in the U.S., announced it has raised $18 million in Series A funding and launched a native token as part of its tokenized loyalty program.

Three years ago, Juno in 2019

Completed a $3 million seed round of financing

. The round was co-led by Polychain Capital and Sequoia Capital India’s Surge project. Deshpande declined to comment on Juno's valuation at the latest funding round.

Juno offers checking accounts for U.S. residents that allow them to earn, invest, and spend cryptocurrencies. Juno says its checking accounts are free and insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). "The Juno chequing account (holding USD deposits) is sponsored by Evolve Bank & Trust and insured by the FDIC up to $250,000," Juno's website reads.

The checking account allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, earn interest on deposits, and spend cryptocurrencies and cash via debit card. “We mainly compete with banks like Wells Fargo or Chase Bank. In crypto, our closest competitors are Eco, Crypto.com, Strike and Robinhood,” Deshpande said.

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"Loyalty Tokens"

Meanwhile, Juno has launched a tokenized loyalty program that will distribute its native ERC20 token, JCOIN, to certified users as rewards for certain activities on the platform. These activities include receiving deposits in Juno accounts, such as paychecks, and spending funds with Juno debit cards.

“Juno makes money from transactions and transaction fees,” Deshpande said.

According to the Juno website, these activities reward users 1:1, which means that if someone receives or spends $1,000 in their Juno account, they will receive 1,000 JCOINs as a reward. The company refers to JCOIN as a "loyalty token."Juno said it will not distribute JCOIN to employees or investors, nor will it conduct secondary trading of the token. Token holders will be able to buy products through partner brands, Deshpande said, initially backing crypto hardware wallet maker Ledger. One billion JCOINs have been minted so far, and after those tokens are exhausted, the company plans to mint another billion. The supply of tokens is unlimited.According to Juno, based on a snapshot taken on September 30, more than 75,000 users were eligible to receive a total of 150 million free JCOINs in yesterday’s airdrop.