Lolli: Bitcoin for All

by Lauren Kolodny & Maitree Mervana

Bitcoin has been evolving into a legitimate store of value, yet, it still remains unapproachable and unattainable to the masses. According to Gemini’s 2021 State of U.S. Crypto Report, the average crypto investor is a 38 year-old male with an annual income of ~$111k. Interestingly enough, according to the same study, 53% of respondents who are curious about crypto are women, yet only 26% of current crypto holders in the US are women.

At Acrew, we are passionate believers in the power of financial technology to democratize access to financial services, and responsibly broadening access to alternative assets — like crypto — is an important piece of the democratization we envision. For too long, access to assets with the power to drive real upside have been limited or targeted to a small subset.

That’s why we’ve been following (and using) the Lolli product for years.

Lolli is here to change this dynamic and create a platform that truly democratizes access to the masses in a fun, but low risk and measured way. For widespread adoption, we believe that low barrier and low risk point of entry is vital. Lolli enables users to earn bitcoin on everyday purchases through a web extension and now, mobile application. Lolli rewards its users with bitcoin for purchases they are already making — creating an onramp to crypto without requiring any upfront investment or knowledge of how to acquire crypto from a user. As a user collects bitcoin rewards in a Lolli “wallet”, we’re excited about all the additional features and services Lolli will be able to offer its user base (many of whom have never owned any bitcoin before).

From our initial conversations with Alex Adelman, CEO and Co-Founder, and Matt Senter, CTO and Co-Founder, we knew this team was onto something special. Leveraging their prior experience founding Cosmic, a native commerce gateway, which ultimately sold to Rakuten, they set out to create a product that would enable the masses to access bitcoin in a way that was fun and frictionless. Their experience has given them a deep network and understanding of the complexities of partnering with merchants. This understanding enables them to offer rewards that best align with the incentives of their consumers and their business.

Today, Lolli offers bitcoin rewards to shoppers on everyday purchases from 1,000+ retail partners including the likes of Ebay, Sephora, Booking.com, Macy’s, Groupon and many more. Lolli has 350k+ users who have earned $3mm+ in bitcoin rewards to date. Now available on both web and mobile, Lolli has truly set out to create a lasting platform that enables consumers to earn, own and share bitcoin.

Don’t just take our word for it — Lolli users are some of the most passionate and loyal individuals and the community this team has unlocked says it all.

We are proud to be leading Lolli’s Series A and welcoming the Lolli team to our crew. Onwards and upwards!

-§laurenk, §maitree and the Acrew team