Vimba, the Crypto Wallet and Trading Company, receives Grant

By Chetna Phour

According to a press release, Challaghan Innovation, the state-backed innovation institute of New Zealand recently awarded a grant of $315,000 to a local crypto trading and wallet service.

Challaghan Innovation was established in 2013 with the aim of making businesses more innovative in the country. It is a crown entity; a Crown Research Institute, Industrial Research Limited was merged in the Challaghan Innovation at the time of its inception. It is an innovation agency of New Zealand which activates innovations and helps the businesses to grow faster for a better future. The institute partners with ambitious businesses of all sizes and provides a wide range of innovation and research and development (R&D) services which suit all stages of growth. Challaghan Innovation has a team of over 200 leading scientists and engineers of New Zealand who believe in empowering innovators by connecting people, networks, and opportunities. The institute provides customized technical solutions, skills and capability development programs, and co-funding to the innovators.

To accelerate the innovation in the crypto industry, the institute issued an R&D Project Grant to Vimba. Vimba is a local crypto trading and wallet platform. It is a rebranded version of former MyCryptoSaver. With the help of the grant, the platform is looking forward to expanding its offerings. Vimba is also planning to list more digital assets on the platform and to enable multi-signature crypto wallets. Vimba offers the residents of the country a limited weekly investment in major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vimba, Sam Blackmore, said that the client base of the company has remained stable despite the bear market. According to Sam,

“This is a truly significant investment from Callaghan Innovation and a real show of faith in the future of this very exciting asset class. The money will go towards new key features for our expanding service. We will use it to build secure multi-signature crypto wallets for our users, and we’re also looking into expanding the range of cryptocurrencies available to them — beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.”

According to the spokesperson of the Challaghan Innovation, the grant fund is up to 40% of the project. In the last fiscal year, the institute approved 355 such grants. The institute has denied that the grant should be seen as a vote of confidence in blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.