Coinbase Closes $75 Million VC Round, Largest-Ever for a Bitcoin Company
See? Bitcoin is not dead.
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Despite Bitcoin's recent price crash, Coinbase's future looks bright. The popular San Francisco bitcoin wallet startup has just announced that it raised $75 million in Series C funding from a bevy of heavy-hitter investors -- even the New York Stock Exchange.
The investment is believed to be the largest funding round to date for a Bitcoin company, bringing Coinbase's total capital raised to $106 million -- and giving the controversial cryptocurrency a much needed confidence boost. Who says Bitcoin is dead, headed for the "ash heap?"
Related: Bitcoin Continues Downward Spiral, Plunges Below $200
"Investors still have a pretty high conviction on Bitcoin despite what the spot price of Bitcoin is doing," Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam told the New York Times. "This really is people putting their money where their mouth is in terms of betting on Bitcoin as a technology trend."
The massive financing round was led by DFJ Growth, with participation from earlier investors Ribbit Capital, Union Square Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz. NTT DoCoMo, a Japanese telecom firm, also took part in the round.
Pleased to share we've raised $75M led by @dfjgrowth @USAA @nyse @bbva @docomo and others. Focused on helping #bitcoin grow in 2015 & beyond
— Coinbase (@coinbase) January 20, 2015Related: Bitcoin Named Worst-Performing Currency of 2014
"If we thought there was a huge risk of Bitcoin going away, we obviously wouldn't have made this investment," Barry Schuler, a managing director at DFJ Growth said, also in the New York Times.
The NYSE wasn't the only major financial institution to throw in. USAA and BBVA, a large global bank, also invested, along with former Thomson Reuters CEO Tom Glocer and Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit.
Related: Coinbase Goes Global, Launches Bitcoin Services in 13 European Countries
Coinbase says this is the first time traditional financial institutions have made a major investment in a Bitcoin company. "This participation further legitimizes Bitcoin within the established financial sector," a Coinbase representative told Entrepreneur. She also said Coinbase is "looking forward to a big year ahead," one in which the company will use this latest investment to continue to steamroll ahead with its ambitious global expansion. The startup's services are now available in 18 countries in Europe.
Coinbase, which was reportedly valued at around $400 million last November, says it currently serves 1.9 million consumers and provides bitcoin payment tools for 38,000 merchants worldwide.
Related: NYC Wants Drivers to Pay for Parking Tickets Via Apple Pay, Mobile Apps and Bitcoin
