ZBD, a payments innovator powering real-money transactions for games and apps, has announced a new funding round of $40m.
The company has secured $40m in Series C financing, with the round backed by Blockstream Capital Partners (BCP), which will support ZBD’s ambition to become a core payments infrastructure provider for game developers and digital platforms.
ZBD uses the Bitcoin Lightning Network to enable real-money embedded payments at scale, providing what it describes as a compliant and frictionless layer for money movement within games. The company already processes more than 120 million transactions each year and has doubled the number of games integrated with its software development kit over the past 12 months. Its technology is currently used by developers including TapNation, Fumb Games and PlayEmber, which distribute rewards to players in fiat currencies, bitcoin and gift cards.
Unlike traditional gaming payments models that focus primarily on monetising player spending, ZBD’s approach is centred on enabling real-time payouts directly within gameplay. The company argues that instant real-money rewards can improve player engagement and lifetime value, creating a two-way value exchange between publishers and users. By embedding compliant payment rails into games, ZBD aims to make money movement a native part of the gaming experience rather than an external add-on.
The new funding will be used to build out a full-stack, compliance-ready payments platform for console, PC and mobile games. ZBD plans to give publishers greater control over how money flows through their platforms, expanding into services such as card issuance, bank transfers, virtual IBANs and currency exchange. The company also sees opportunities across the wider creator economy, including user-generated content and livestream tipping.
In 2025, ZBD became one of the first firms to secure both MiCAR and EMI licences in the Netherlands, allowing it to offer regulated fiat and crypto payment services across the European Economic Area. It also holds Money Transmitter Licences in the US, strengthening its regulatory footprint.
ZBD CSO Ben Cousens 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.”
ZBD CEO & Co-Founder Simon Cowell 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.”
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