ZBD ANNOUNCES $40M SERIES C TO BRING REAL-MONEY PAYMENTS AND REWARDS NATIVELY INTO VIDEO GAMES

HOBOKEN, N.J., Jan. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ZBD, the payments innovator powering real-money transactions for games and apps, today announced it has secured USD $40M in Series C financing commitments from Blockstream Capital Partners ("BCP"), accelerating its growth as the only fully-licensed, vertically-integrated payments provider built for gaming.

ZBD uses the Lightning Network to power real-money embedded payments at scale, creating a frictionless, compliant money movement layer. The company already processes more than 120 million transactions annually and has doubled the number of games integrated with its SDK over the past 12 months, driven by adoption from developers including TapNation, Fumb Games and PlayEmber. These partners use ZBD's infrastructure at scale to deliver tens of millions in fiat currencies, bitcoin, and gift card rewards to gamers.

In the $189 billion video games industry, where payments innovation is traditionally focused on maximizing revenue from player purchases (pay-ins), ZBD takes a novel approach. The company has also shown that instant real-money earnings (payouts) can be embedded natively into gameplay to boost lifetime value (LTV) and create a long lasting two-way value exchange with gamers. While the games industry already leverages rewarded user acquisition and monetization mechanics, ZBD enables embedded, instant, real-money payments – something other existing technology cannot support.

Ben Cousens, CSO of ZBD, said:
"Our mission is simple: to make money work in games by providing all-in-one payments technology to publishers and developers. The current financial and reward systems in games are slow and unwieldy, but ZBD is bringing the power of the Lightning network to deliver rewards at speed, while giving developers the flexibility to choose how they are presented. We're happy that BCP see the value in our mission and our tech, and we're delighted to welcome them on board."

Nicolas Brand of BCP, said:
"We have been following ZBD for many years and believe it has achieved a rare pairing of native Bitcoin payments technology with an expansive and hard-to-replicate licensing framework across key regulatory regimes. This places ZBD among a very small group of credible Bitcoin payment service providers. We strongly believe in its mission to drive the convergence of payments and the Bitcoin Lightning Network, particularly within digital-first ecosystems such as gaming."

The future of gaming payments

In 2025, ZBD became one of the first companies to secure both MiCAR and EMI licenses in the Netherlands, enabling regulated fiat and crypto payment services across the European Economic Area. This, in addition to Money Transmitter Licenses in the United States, expands ZBD's financial capabilities far beyond rewards to card issuance, bank transfers, virtual IBAN creation, and currency exchanges.

During 2026, a complete, compliance-ready payments stack will come to life - giving console, PC, and mobile game publishers full ownership of money movement in their games and turning payments from a cost centre into a strategic capability that delivers deeper experiences for gamers. This enables real-money transactions across the entire creator economy, from games to user-generated content platforms and livestream tipping, unlocking new value and revenue streams and making money movement a native part of play.

Simon Cowell, CEO & Co-Founder of ZBD, said:
"ZBD is the payments infrastructure for the future of video games and virtual worlds, where real money moves natively through content. By giving developers and publishers full control of their payments infrastructure, we're maximizing their revenue and creating additional value streams with new, real-money experiences that can be deeply embedded into gameplay."

ZBD's Series C unlocks significant capability for scale, as the company seeks to capitalize on its current product market fit in mobile payouts while building out more comprehensive, industry-wide solutions for all game publishers. This also includes expanding licensing globally and growing its commercial footprint across North America, Europe, LATAM and APAC to increase developer adoption. New developer tooling, platform enhancements and additional game integrations are scheduled throughout 2026.

For further info & interviews contact:
Raptor PR for ZBD
Enzo Vallente / Joshua Callaghan
+44(0)7399 329 478 / +44(0)7947 990308
enzo@raptorpr.com / joshua@raptorpr.com

About ZBD

ZBD is the all-in-one payment stack for games, pushing the boundaries of how money and games interact. Best known for powering instant real-money rewards that massively boost player engagement, ZBD is the only licensed payment service provider that enables games to fully embed transactions into gameplay - whether it's paying players or getting paid by them, pay becomes a part of play.

To learn more, visit https://zbdpay.com

About BCP

Blockstream Capital Partners (BCP) is an investment group of Bitcoin pioneers driving the convergence of Bitcoin and institutional finance. Affiliated with Dr. Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream, the global leader in Bitcoin and blockchain infrastructure, BCP brings together early Bitcoin investors from before the first halving and veteran institutional finance leaders with decades of experience managing global capital.

BCP invests across asset classes - venture capital, private and public equity, credit, real estate, and insurance - and across the entire stack of Bitcoin finance: from infrastructure (including trading, custody, payments, and settlement) to Bitcoin-based applications and financial instruments. Its approach reflects the same philosophy that defines Blockstream: an uncompromising commitment to building the financial infrastructure of the future and a long-term conviction in Bitcoin.

BCP operates a comprehensive investment platform offering institutional-grade Bitcoin solutions designed to deliver Bitcoin-referenced returns and long-term value for investors. With a global presence in key financial hubs, BCP is positioned to serve leading institutional allocators worldwide. 

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