Betting on the digital dollar

Rizon, a neobank headquartered in Delaware, has drawn the interest of investors from Poland. One of its backers is Market One Capital, a fund that executes a significant share of its transactions internationally and already counts three unicorns in its portfolio.

Rizon is a relatively young venture – a neobank that, in broad terms, focuses on financial management through stablecoins and enables its users to deposit and transact in digital dollars. The company, on the market for five months and based in Delaware, has raised USD 2 million (approx. PLN 8.6 million / EUR 7.9 million) in a pre-seed funding round. The investor is the Polish fund Market One Capital (MOC).

Investors were persuaded by the company’s business performance and the growth potential of this segment of the financial sector. According to data presented by the fund, the Rizon app has been installed more than 170,000 times and has users in over 120 countries. The value of transactions executed through the platform is growing by 245% month-on-month. Furthermore, more than one-third of users who try the app return within the first week, and nearly 50% remain active after 30 days.

An investment in a relatively new market segment

According to the parties to the transaction, Rizon’s users include freelancers, self-employed professionals, and remote workers employed by U.S. companies that pay them in digital dollars via providers such as Deel. The app helps users optimize fees on international transactions, and Rizon also issues Visa cards for payments.

“Digital dollars are gaining traction, yet using them in everyday life has so far been surprisingly difficult. We believe that over the next decade several companies worth millions – or even billions – of dollars will emerge around global ‘dollar banking’. From what we see, Rizon could be among the first. It has a distinctive, strongly user-centric distribution strategy and is generating revenue at an early stage. That is precisely what led us to invest in the company,” says Jacek Łubiński, partner at Market One Capital.

Convinced that global demand for banking services built around the digital dollar will continue to grow is also Ignas Survila, CEO and co-founder of Rizon.

“Banking is undergoing a transformation similar to what happened in entertainment, when Netflix moved films from closed physical formats to the cloud,” Ignas Survila concludes.

Market One Capital’s investment activity

Ignas Survila notes that in Market One Capital (MOC) he has found a financial partner with whom he can pursue the long-term vision for scaling a fintech business.

The fund has been investing in startups for more than a decade, backing over 80 companies, including three unicorns: JOKR, TIER Mobility, and Docplanner.

“We are currently investing through our second vehicle, MOC II. We have completed 15 transactions and are in the process of closing three more. Several MOC II portfolio companies that joined earlier have already raised strong follow-on rounds and are developing very well – for example Ovoko from Lithuania, Metycle from Germany, or Asap from France. In MOC I we still have 18 active investments, and we have exited several – including the sale of Eversports to Verdane, the sale of Nautal to Click & Boat, and the acquisition of Lunching by Benefit Systems,” says Jacek Łubiński.

MOC invests across Europe and also includes U.S. companies in its portfolio, provided they have a clear European component.

“When we look at investments from MOC II, we have completed the highest number of transactions in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, the DACH region, and France—but we are not limiting ourselves to specific geographies. We focus on the earliest stages, namely pre-seed and seed rounds, where our initial ticket size reaches up to EUR 3 million,” Jacek Łubiński adds.

Market trends are reshaping MOC’s strategy

Market One Capital (MOC) began its activity as a fund primarily focused on investing in marketplaces. Market trends, however, have not left its strategy untouched.

“First, the era of technology companies focused solely on a single industry, built around a pure SaaS or marketplace business model, is over. The companies of the future will skillfully combine software, financial services, data, logistics, and more, creating a more comprehensive offering for a given market or customer segment. Second, the capabilities offered by AI models will gradually automate digitization processes and reduce the value of products based solely on software. At the same time, we are convinced that network effects will be one of the key drivers of long-term value creation – which is why we invest in ventures that have the potential to strengthen them,” emphasizes Jacek Łubiński of Market One Capital.

The companies of the future will skillfully combine software, financial services, data, logistics, and more, creating a more comprehensive offering for a given market or type of customer.

Polish funds are still building their brand abroad

The scale of overseas investments by Polish venture-capital funds is increasing, but it remains modest. According to the report “Transactions on the Polish VC Market 2025” by PFR Ventures and Inovo.vc, Polish fund management teams completed 86 investments abroad last year. The total value of those transactions reached PLN 546 million (around EUR 125 million).

“Space technologies stood out clearly in the foreign investments of Polish funds. In total, eight transactions were completed in SpaceTech companies, accounting for roughly one in ten investments. The drone technology segment, in turn, received funding in five transactions. This distribution of emphasis points to growing interest among domestic investors in projects with dual-use potential,” said Dmytro Golournyi, investment manager at PFR Ventures, quoted in the report.

Representatives of Market One Capital (MOC) have been working for years to build the recognition and credibility of their brand.

“We see the brand of Polish venture-capital teams strengthening beyond our borders. This is certainly helped by the increasingly positive perception of Poland as a strong economy and one of the engines of Europe’s further development. To some extent, the activity of funds such as OTB or ours – investing across Europe for several years now -also plays a role,” notes Jacek Łubiński.

Most Polish venture-capital funds are particularly active in Central and Eastern Europe.

“Polish funds are strong regionally today, but globally they are still building their position. Winning rounds in the United States or Western Europe requires local presence and relationships – and these are still in short supply for Polish investors. That is why every such investment is not just a transaction, but invaluable experience and a step toward building global credibility,” adds Bartosz Lipnicki, managing director of Endeavor Poland.

Key Takeaways

1. Polish venture-capital funds are increasingly investing beyond national borders and are gradually building their international brand. Their global position, however, remains relatively weak. Investments are still concentrated mainly in regions such as Central and Eastern Europe, while in the United States and Western Europe these funds face constraints due to limited local presence and networks. As a result, each foreign transaction represents not only a deal, but also a step toward greater credibility and experience in international markets.
2. Rizon is a neobank focused on financial management using stablecoins and the digital dollar. The company raised USD 2 million (around PLN 8.6 million / EUR 7.9 million) in a pre-seed round from Market One Capital. Its app has been installed more than 170,000 times across over 120 countries. Strong transaction growth dynamics and solid user-retention metrics were key factors behind the investment decision.
3. Market One Capital invests at the earliest stages of startup development, executing transactions across Europe and the United States. In response to market trends, the fund is reshaping its strategy – moving away from a sole focus on marketplaces toward more complex models that combine software, financial services, data, and logistics. In the fund’s assessment, network effects and the development of AI models are also gaining in importance.