For Bitcoin to be money, someone has to be willing to take it at the till. Mion is making sure European merchants can. Founded in 2022 in Vienna by Daniel Tesch Martins and Maximilian Obwexer, the company — previously known as Eden, Lightning Company, and LC Pay — operates a Lightning-native payment platform that lets shops, restaurants, and online businesses accept Bitcoin and settle directly in euros.

The product is built around the realities of running a small business. Merchants get a simple point-of-sale or e-commerce integration, customers pay in Bitcoin or over Lightning, and the merchant receives euros in their bank account the next day. Card-network fees, chargebacks, and reversal risk all disappear. The conversion happens in the background; the merchant experience is just lower fees and faster settlement.

This is the Fulgur thesis in its most tangible form. The Lightning Network is the only payment rail that can credibly compete with card networks on speed and beat them on cost — but that promise only matters if real merchants can plug in without becoming Bitcoin experts themselves. Mion bridges exactly that gap, with a Europe-first focus where regulatory clarity and SEPA rails make instant euro settlement a real product.

The opportunity is significant. European merchants pay billions of euros each year in interchange and processing fees, and a growing share of consumers are looking for ways to spend Bitcoin without giving up self-custody. A Lightning-to-euro acquirer designed for SMBs slots cleanly into that gap.

We invested in Mion in 2023 and are excited to back the team as it brings Lightning payments out of the conference circuit and into European checkout counters.