HOBOKEN, N.J., Jan. 22, 2026 — , the payments innovator enabling real-money transactions for games and applications, today revealed it has secured USD $40M in Series C financing commitments from Blockstream Capital Partners (“BCP”). This investment accelerates its growth as the only fully licensed, vertically integrated payments provider built exclusively for the gaming industry.
ZBD leverages the Lightning Network to power large-scale embedded real-money payments, creating a seamless, compliant layer for money movement. The company currently processes over 120 million transactions annually and has doubled the number of games integrated with its SDK over the past year—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 has traditionally focused on maximizing revenue from player purchases (pay-ins)—ZBD takes a unique approach. The company has shown that instant real-money earnings (payouts) can be natively embedded into gameplay to boost user lifetime value (LTV) and foster a sustained two-way value exchange with gamers. While the industry already uses rewarded user acquisition and monetization strategies, ZBD enables embedded, instant real-money payments—a capability no other existing technology supports.
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. Combined with its Money Transmitter Licenses in the United States, this expands ZBD’s financial capabilities far beyond rewards to include card issuance, bank transfers, virtual IBAN creation, and currency exchanges.
During 2026, a complete, compliance-ready payments stack will launch—giving console, PC, and mobile game publishers full control over money movement in their games and turning payments from a cost center into a strategic capability that delivers deeper gamer experiences. 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 funding unlocks significant scaling capabilities as the company seeks to capitalize on its current product-market fit in mobile payouts while building comprehensive, industry-wide solutions for all game publishers. This includes expanding global licensing and growing its commercial footprint across North America, Europe, LATAM, and APAC to increase developer adoption. New developer tools, 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
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About ZBD
ZBD is an all-in-one payment stack for games that pushes the boundaries of how money and gaming interact. Renowned for powering instant real-money rewards that drastically boost player engagement, ZBD is the only licensed payment service provider enabling full transaction embedding into gameplay—whether paying players or receiving payments from them, financial interactions become part of the gaming experience.
To learn more, visit
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 (a global leader in Bitcoin and blockchain infrastructure), BCP unites 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 covers the entire Bitcoin finance stack: from infrastructure (including trading, custody, payments, and settlement) to Bitcoin-based applications and financial instruments. Its approach reflects Blockstream’s philosophy: an unwavering commitment to building the future of financial infrastructure and long-term conviction in Bitcoin.
BCP operates a comprehensive investment platform offering institutional-grade Bitcoin solutions designed to deliver Bitcoin-linked 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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