Blockchain, a London based bitcoin wallet start-up has raised a major $40 million (£31.5 million) in funding.
The investment comes after having a second round of venture capital funding. This was led by VC firm Lakestar, and Google’s investment arm GV.
Other companies that took part in the round included Nokota Management, Digital Currency Group, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mosaic Venture Partners, Prudence Holdings, and Virgin.
The economic world is currently experiencing increasing enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has received a high record of investments and digital transactions which has soared since in 2017. The value of Bitcoin has more than doubled since the start of the year.
In 2014, Blockchain (the company) raised a grand total of $30.5 million (£24.8 million). The current funding takes the total raised by Blockchain to $70 million (£55.2 million).
It has received the biggest investment of any competing UK start-up since Brexit. With the majority of staff working in London, the company’s official headquarters are in Luxembourg.
Blockchain was founded in 2011 as a means to create a digital wallet for bitcoins. It provides individuals with a software program and online tools to deposit, exchange, and conduct various transactions with other users.
Regarded as a high financial disruption, Blockchain has created a digital currency exchange system which has over 15 million accounts, including billions of dollars worth of monthly transactions gained from consumer activity. It now has a gross expansion of users in up to 140 countries.
International banks are also placing resources into applying the crypto currency technology to bring bitcoin into the mainstream financial system.
Announcing the second round of investment, founder and CEO Peter Smith said: “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. You can also expect new products aimed at allowing anyone to transact, save, or hedge digital assets with greater speed, efficiency and control.
“Innovating, disrupting, revolutionizing a century old industry takes time. We’ve made significant strides, but we’re just getting started.”
The money will be used to expand Blockchain workforce teams, and facilitate research and development into new methods of expanding digital services.
Speaking to CNBC on Thursday, Peter Smith stated that the funding will help meet specific goals the company has. This includes opening new offices in different countries and employing more individuals to join the Blockchain network.
The gross added value of Blockchain is forecast to be over $176 billion by 2025, exceeding to $3.1 trillion by 2030. This is according to insights provided by technology and IT business research centre, Gartner.
