Lastbit
AcquiredFounded 2018 · 7 employees on LinkedIn · 2 known investors
Striga provides regulated APIs for digital asset custody, trading, banking, and card issuing, letting businesses offer crypto and fiat neobanking services (virtual IBANs, wallets, and Bitcoin/stablecoin-linked cards) without holding their own licenses. The company handles compliance, KYC, and banking partnerships across 30+ countries in Europe, operating as a licensed Virtual Asset Service Provider under Estonia's MiCA regime.
Also known as LastBit · lastbit.io · Striga · Striga Technology AS
Investors · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Lastbit, operating as Striga (legal entity Striga Technology AS, registry code 16298772), supplies payments infrastructure for Bitcoin and stablecoins through modular APIs. Its product set covers named virtual IBANs and dedicated per-user crypto wallets issued via a single API, virtual and physical payment cards linked to Bitcoin and stablecoins, money-movement APIs for on-chain and off-chain transfers (BTC, ETH, USDC across supported L1 and L2 networks, including Lightning) alongside SEPA, SEPA Instant and Open Banking connectivity, and crypto-fiat trading and swaps. The company states it handles strong customer authentication, identity verification, fraud detection and float-holding so that client businesses do not need their own licences or crypto-banking balance-sheet exposure.
The business is positioned for neobanks, card programs, wallets and exchanges, Lightning network applications, cross-border payment providers, and firms wanting a pre-approved white-label application with wallets, trading, vIBANs and card issuing. Coverage is stated at 30 EEA countries, with a first payment processed in 2023 and total payment volume reported at more than €200 million [0].
The company originated as Lastbit, a Bitcoin Lightning Network payments startup. Earlier public material describes an interoperable payments layer between Bitcoin and euros enabling instant movement between the two, physical and virtual Lightning-powered debit cards, on-chain and Lightning send/receive with zero setup, and payments into debit card or IBAN accounts [3][6]. An early open-source mobile application (v0) provided a combined private Bitcoin wallet and hosted Lightning wallet on a c-lightning backend, and connected over Bluetooth Low Energy to a "Lastbit Go" hardware device for signing and broadcasting Bitcoin transactions; it was tested with beta users on testnet [1].
Founding story
Prashanth Balasubramanian started Lastbit while studying for a Master's in Computer Science at ETH Zurich, after encountering difficulties moving money from India to pay tuition in Switzerland and turning to Bitcoin. Concluding that Bitcoin transactions were too slow and costly for real-world use, he left the programme to build a payments company on the Lightning Network. Bernardo Magnani, an economist and former McKinsey consultant completing an MBA at UC Berkeley Haas (class of 2020), learned about Lastbit and Balasubramanian through Berkeley SkyDeck and joined as co-founder [4].
Business model
Business-to-business infrastructure: client companies integrate Striga's APIs to offer crypto and fiat banking, trading and card products to their own end users, relying on Striga's licences, compliance framework and banking partnerships rather than obtaining their own. Pricing is described as upfront and transparent, with wallet infrastructure charged on a pay-for-what-you-use basis [0].
Fees from usage of its API-based accounts, wallet, card issuing, transfer and trading services, including per-use pricing for dedicated crypto wallets [0].
Traction
More than €200 million in total payment volume, coverage of 30 EEA countries and a first payment processed in 2023 [0]. Bitwala's CEO is cited as a customer reference regarding the relaunch of Bitwala services [0]. The original Lastbit mobile app repository shows 9 stars and 3 forks on GitHub [1]. The Org lists the company at 1-10 employees with seven positions and Prashanth Balasubramanian as Founder, CEO and CTO [6].
Latest developments
Lightspark's acquisition of Striga is announced across the company's website, framed as advancing open, compliant payments on Bitcoin [0].
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positions itself as a compliance-first crypto and fiat payments infrastructure provider in Europe, stating it was the first company licensed under Estonia's MiCA-style regime and the first licensed by the Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit for virtual currency services [0].
Combines regulated fiat banking rails (named vIBANs, SEPA, card issuing) with crypto custody, Lightning and stablecoin transfers under one API and one KYC flow, allowing clients to operate without their own licences and keeping crypto-banking off their balance sheets; emphasises regulatory licensing, reconciliation without reference numbers, and short integration timelines [0].
Technology
A single API layer combining crypto and fiat rails: named virtual IBANs, segregated per-user crypto deposit addresses, on-chain and Lightning Bitcoin transfers, transfers on supported L1 and L2 networks for assets such as ETH and USDC, SEPA and SEPA Instant payments with Open Banking connectivity, crypto-fiat swaps, and virtual and physical card issuing. A single KYC API onboards a user for cards, vIBANs, crypto and trading accounts, with strong customer authentication, identity verification, fraud detection and travel-rule compliance built in [0]. The earlier Lastbit mobile application was a React Native app connecting to a c-lightning backend with an account management server, plus BLE connectivity to the Lastbit Go hardware device [1].
Go-to-market
Direct developer-oriented sales via API documentation, self-serve "start building" onboarding and booked calls with the team, supported by case studies, customer stories and a monthly newsletter on cross-border payments and regulation. The company states integrations can launch in as little as one week and that no NDAs are required to begin discussions [0].
Neobanks, card programs, crypto wallets and exchanges, Lightning network applications, cross-border payment businesses, and startups or enterprises seeking a white-label crypto-fiat application; customers include Bitwala [0].
Geography
Headquartered at Pärnu mnt. 110, Tallinn 11313, Estonia, with services covering 30 EEA countries [0]; an office address of Sepapaja 6 is also listed [6]. Earlier Lastbit material lists a Berkeley, California address at 2150 Shattuck Ave and a San Francisco headquarters [3][6].
History
Founded as Lastbit, a Bitcoin and Lightning Network payments company, it released an open-source v0 mobile wallet application tested with beta users on testnet and paired with the Lastbit Go hardware device [1]. The company participated in Y Combinator's 2020 batch, presenting at a remote demo day [4][5]. It later operated as Striga Technology AS in Tallinn, Estonia, licensed by the Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit (licence FVT000546) for virtual currency services, processing its first payment in 2023 [0]. The Striga business was subsequently acquired by Lightspark [0].
Risks & controversies
The company identifies regulation as its principal challenge, noting that cryptocurrencies operated largely outside traditional financial regulation historically while regulatory regimes have since emerged globally [4].
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsThe company announces on its website that Lightspark has acquired Striga, described as a step toward open, compliant payments on Bitcoin.
Striga Technology AS (registry code 16298772), based in Tallinn, holds virtual currency service licence FVT000546 from the Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit, and states it was the first company licensed under Estonia's MiCA-style regime.
Co-founder Bernardo Magnani describes Lastbit's participation in Y Combinator's remote batch and its demo day presentation to investors.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Lastbitlastbit.io · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Lastbit do?
- Estonia-based Striga (formerly Lastbit) offers regulated APIs for crypto custody, banking, trading and card issuing across Europe.
- Who are Lastbit's investors?
- Lastbit's investors include Emles Venture Partners, Kube VC.