Canadian challenger bank Mogo announces corporate investment in Bitcoin

By Pavithra R

Mogo, a FinTech company offering customers solutions to manage and control their finances through its mobile app, has announced its plan to make an initial corporate investment of up to $1.5 mn in bitcoin and will consider additional investments in 2021 as it monetizes its $17 mn investment portfolio.

The financial investment is built on Mogo’s product development related investments in bitcoin over the last several years. The firm launched MogoCrypto, providing easy ways to buy and sell bitcoin in Canada in 2018. The solution enables members to buy and sell bitcoin at real-time prices instantly through the Mogo app bringing a new level of convenience and accessibility to bitcoin ownership for all Canadians. To be eligible for MogoCrypto, members must first pass Mogo’s identity and security verification process and agree to the MogoCrypto Terms and Conditions.

Additionally, the company recently announced its bitcoin rewards program, which provides members with the opportunity to earn bitcoin through engagement with Mogo’s products and enables them to accumulate bitcoin over time.

“We are strong believers in bitcoin as an asset class and believe this investment is consistent with our goal to make bitcoin investing available to all Canadians. In addition, we believe bitcoin represents an attractive investment for our shareholders with significant long-term potential as its adoption continues to grow globally. We plan to initially allocate a modest portion of our capital toward bitcoin investments and will consider additional investments in bitcoin as we monetize some of our existing $17 million portfolio which we expect to begin doing in 2021,” said Greg Feller, President and CFO of Mogo.

The year 2020 saw an increase in bitcoin by almost 200% driven by rising mainstream acceptance as well as growing endorsement from institutional investors and leading global FinTech companies. Despite this surge, the majority of Canadians do not own or have exposure to bitcoin.

“As the only well-established Canadian company publicly traded on the TSX and NASDAQ, offering a simple and low-cost way to buy and sell bitcoin through our award-winning app, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the fast-growing demand for bitcoin,” added Mr Feller.

Founded in 2003, Mogo is a digital challenger to the banks in Canada, empowering consumers with simple solutions to help them manage and control their finances.