At ZBD, we began last year with one goal: to bring our real-time payments tech to more users across the globe. With 450% growth in Monthly Active Users in 2024, it’s a resolution we’ve managed to keep! Join us as we look at the year gone by, and prepare a little for the future.
Partnerships
2024 saw us work with new and existing partners across the games, music, and commerce industries. We started the year by celebrating the 2 million install milestone for Bitcoin Miner, an idle game from Fumb Games that integrates ZBD tech to provide real Bitcoin rewards in the game. Our partnership with Fumb Games has existed for several years now and we’re looking forward to more milestones to come!
In addition to continuing our existing partnerships, 2024 also saw new integrations of ZBD tech across games and beyond. ZBD users across the globe can now rack up sats while listening to music and podcasts, thanks to our partnership with Fountain and Wavlake. We also introduced a brand new way for ZBD users to earn Bitcoin rewards - by shopping both online and in-person at partner stores across the US! On a post-Christmas shopping spree? Our partnership with Finfare Connect means those in the US can automatically earn in the ZBD App as they shop at brands such as Adidas, Temu, and Best Buy.
We owe a huge thanks - and maybe a few sats - to our global partners; stay tuned for more ZBD integrations in 2025, we’re just getting started!
Gen Z Uncovered
If there’s one generation that relates to ZBD in 2024, it would be Gen Z (No cap). With two separate studies, we surveyed thousands of Gen Z across the UK and US to understand their gaming and financial behaviours. Among other findings, our research has uncovered Gen Z as the Reward(ed) Generation; a vitally important generation that expects to be meaningfully rewarded for their financial interactions. These insights have been crucial for shaping our future approach, and providing insights for the wider industry. You can check out the Gen Z Gamer Study here and The Reward(ed) Generation here.
Expanding Payments Capability and Moving into EU
2024 also saw a key focus on expanding ZBD’s payment and compliance infrastructure. Across the year, the ZBD team has traveled across the globe meeting new partners in the FinTech space at events such as Money 20/20. The engineering team at ZBD has continued to build on the Lightning Network while also preparing to launch support for fiat rewards and payments in 2025. By the way, we reached a major milestone in our Bitcoin journey in 2024 - ZBD now processes more transactions per month than the Bitcoin blockchain itself! This is made possible by the pioneering infrastructure we’ve been building on the Bitcoin Lightning Nertwork since our very inception in 2019 (Lightning Network transactions to not use the blockchain and are more efficient, which allows us to outperform Bitcoin’s base layer!)
Meanwhile, our compliance and legal teams have meticulously ensured ZBD fully complies with international regulation, culminating in ZBD’s recognition as one of the first companies approved for a MiCAR license in December 2024. Within the compliance and payments industries, we’ve cemented ZBD as a proactive and agile company that sets the example for other companies, including the world’s largest crypto exchanges, to follow. For users, the message is clear: you’re in safe hands.
Looking Ahead
As we look back at 2024, we’re incredibly proud of all that we’ve achieved. But we’re even more excited for what’s to come. With new partnerships on the horizon, a focus on expanding massively in the EU, and a continued vision to build a truly digital-native payments platform, this year is shaping up to be even better. Here’s to 2025!
