Milo’s $17 million Series A will help crypto investors make the most of their holdings

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Miami-based FinTech Milo, a digital banking and home mortgage FinTech, has closed a $17 million Series A led by M13. Two investors from Milo’s seed round last year, QED Investors and MetaProp, also participated in the Series A.

The startup, which has raised $24 million to date, plans to use this latest infusion of capital to further develop their product and step up their hiring efforts to keep up with heightened customer demand.

In 2019, Milo launched its first product, which enabled foreign nationals to procure a loan to buy a home in the US. The company reports that this solution has grown over 250% in the last 12 months. Across the same period of time, Milo has processed upwards of $500 million in applications from would-be homeowners from 90+ countries.

Earlier this year, Milo announced it would be providing 30-year crypto mortgages. This product enables Milo’s clients to use their Bitcoin to purchase US property and qualify for a low interest rate 30-year crypto mortgage. Clients can finance 100% of their purchase — no down payment required. Milo also claims that the process is faster than a conventional mortgage.

Milo CEO Josip Rupena signaled to ZDNet that these mortgages give diamond-handed crypto enthusiasts a unique opportunity to invest in real assets. “I looked at individuals that had amassed crypto wealth and felt that at some point they were going to want to transact in the real world by purchasing real estate and buying other real-world assets,” said Rupena [pictured above].

“Given our experience already doing mortgages and working with international clients, we felt we could do the same for people that have crypto wealth… so we came out with our latest crypto mortgage product,” Rupena continued. “So far, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.”

For Rupena, this is just the opening salvo of a burgeoning crypto mortgage industry. “We have a fundamental view that over the next three, five, seven, 10 years, more people will keep and amass their wealth in crypto,” he told ZDNet. “That’s why we’re pushing forward with this product. There’s an opportunity for us to really help a lot of individuals – whether they’re international or US – in the crypto mortgage space.”

Matt Burton, Partner at QED Investors, is on the same page. “The crypto market has been underserved by wealth management products, and Milo is blazing a trail by launching the first 30-year mortgage that allows for a zero-percent down payment in exchange for pledging your crypto.”

“The meta theme here is that Milo’s crypto mortgage product allows people to put their crypto to work,” Burton added. He also hinted at Miami’s rise as a tech hub, asserting that Milo is “incredibly well positioned at the center of Miami’s hub of crypto startup activity as the city becomes the crypto capital of the U.S.”

Milo has more than 20 roles on offer across its Miami, NYC, and Cali (Colombia) offices. The team, which is currently made up of 40 full-time employees, is expanding in all areas: from operations and marketing to product and engineering.

Rupena announces Milo’s crypto mortgage at the North American Bitcoin Conference in January.

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Riley Kaminer

I am a Miami-based technology researcher and writer with a passion for sharing stories about the South Florida tech ecosystem. I particularly enjoy learning about GovTech startups, cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence, and innovators that leverage technology to transform society for the better. Always open for pitches via Twitter @rileywk or www.RileyKaminer.com.