London-based cryptocurrency wallet and exchange operator Blockchain.com has raised $120m in new venture capital funding round.
The new cash injection brings blockchain.com’s total funding amount to $190m since its launch in 2012.
The round was led by existing backers including Alphabet’s Google Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners as well as participation from hedge fund manager and Hayman Capital Management founder Kyle Bass, Access Industries and investment firms Moore Strategic Ventures, Rovida Advisers.
In a blog post, Blockchain.com’s CEO Peter Smith said: “The fact that the best macro investors in the world participated in our latest fundraise is further proof that institutions are taking a serious look at their crypto strategy.” He added that given how crypto is attracting even those who were previously against it, “crypto begins to seem like the real Robin Hood of finance.”
To add on, crypto enthusiasts have created 65 million wallets via the company’s website and mobile app. Almost 28% of all b transactions since 2012 have been routed through its platform, Smith said.
The fundraising news comes at a time when bitcoin surpassed its previous records touching an all-time high of $50,000. The sudden rise in cryptocurrency has been driven by hedge funders like Stanley Druckenmiller and Paul Tudor Jones advocating the asset and deeming it as digital gold. Moreover, interest in the digital asset has escalated significantly after Tesla bought $1.5bn in Bitcoin and said it would accept the cryptocurrency as a mode of payment.
Bitcoin’s current bull run was also powered by Fortune 500 companies, investment funds as well as financial institutions driving net influxes into the crypto, Blockchain.com said.
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