Thesis doubles down on Bitcoin rewards infrastructure with Lolli acquisition

Bitcoin-focused venture studio Thesis — stylized with an asterisk as Thesis* — has acquired bitcoin rewards platform Lolli in an undisclosed deal.

Thesis previously incubated fellow bitcoin rewards platform Fold before it spun off as an independent company. Fold later entered a SPAC merger with FTAC Emerald Acquisition Corp. in July 2024 and began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker FLD in February.

"The move positions Thesis as a leader in bitcoin rewards technology and marks a significant step toward its mission of building a lifestyle economy powered by bitcoin and turning bitcoin from a buy-and-hold asset into the foundation of a modern, decentralized economy," the firm said in a statement shared with The Block.

Founded in 2018, Lolli enables users to earn bitcoin and cashback when shopping at over 50,000 retailers or by playing more than 1,000 mobile games, both online and in-store.

Following the acquisition, Lolli's platform will be integrated within Thesis's broader ecosystem, which also includes Mezo, a bitcoin-based financial platform that lets users save, earn, and spend without having to sell their bitcoin, and tBTC, a trust-minimized bridge for bringing bitcoin onto EVM-compatible chains.

Users will be able to earn bitcoin with Lolli and use it in Mezo, accelerating the companies' shared missions to make bitcoin a daily part of people's financial lives, not just a speculative or static asset, the firms said.

"For years, spending bitcoin meant giving up your best asset. We're changing that," Thesis CEO Matt Luongo said. "Lolli's success has proven that people want easy, fun ways to use bitcoin in their everyday lives. We're excited to help bring Lolli's loyal users into a sovereign bitcoin economy, and build a future where you can live on bitcoin."

The move is also designed to accelerate Lolli's international expansion plans, opening up access to global markets beyond its existing 600,000 users in the U.S.

"Lolli was founded to make bitcoin accessible to everyone through rewards," Lolli founder and CEO Alex Adelman said. "Joining forces with Thesis and its suite of bitcoin-native products marks the next evolution of Lolli, empowering our users to not just earn and hold bitcoin, but to turn their earnings into capital they use with real-world financial applications."

Meanwhile, the company plans to spin out its AI-powered enterprise rewards platform, Mirado, which has been operating in stealth for the past few years. Currently powering merchant-funded rewards for over 85 million cardholders, Mirado will now function independently from Lolli, offering white-labeled rewards infrastructure to fintechs, banks, loyalty platforms, and crypto exchanges.

Lolli previously raised $8 million in a 2023 Series B round led by Bitkraft Ventures, bringing its total funding to approximately $28.3 million. The platform claims to have rewarded users with over $20 million in bitcoin to date, with some early users earning more than 2 BTC.