Blockchain Wallet Raises Largest Ever $40 million Series B Funding
Wallet provider Blockchain has raised $40 million in second round funding from new and existing contributors.
The deal, which became public knowledge today, means that the resource has so far raised an excess of $70 million since its inception.
“Our Series B represents the most substantial investment in the fintech space since Brexit and is the largest Series B raised by any digital currency company to date,” CEO Peter Smith wrote in a blog post.
Funds arrived from Richard Branson and Lightspeed Venture Partners, of which includes early Snapchat investor, Jeremy Liew. New participants included European VC firm Lakestar and GV (formerly Google Ventures).
Liew has a close relationship with Blockchain, joining Smith in April to forecast a $500,000 Bitcoin price by 2030 and continuing his bullish stance on the virtual currency in comments to the mainstream media this week.
Lightspeed has also contributed to Blockchain’s $30 mln Series A round in 2014.
“As the market leader, you can expect us to make big, bold bets in research and development as well as further our expansion efforts globally,” the blog post continues.
“You can also expect new products aimed at allowing anyone to transact, save, or hedge digital assets with greater speed, efficiency and control.”
Bitcoin consumer uptake has accelerated dramatically in 2017, with platforms such as exchanges reporting an overwhelming demand from new users with no prior experience in cryptocurrency.