A few days ago we wrote (and discussed) that, no, Bitcoin is not dead. And, now, the latest news confirms that it is, yet again, back in the game: the Fintech startup Coinbase has raised 75 million dollars. It is one of the most important financial sweep ups ever by a startup active in the Bitcoin field.
And not only that, even banks and the New York Stock Exchange have started adding their chips onto the ever hotter betting table, evidence that even the most traditional areas of this sector are opening up to the novelty.
Among the list of institutions who gave financing, there is also BBVA Venturesof the Spanish group BBVA, which had already acquired the young digital bank Simple one year ago. Those who begin to move beyond the traditional confines never seem to stop.
NYSE made an interesting declaration, speaking about “transparency of the price of Bitcoins”, that should be pursued with this move.
Going back to Coinbase, it includes 2.1 million digital wallets and more than 38,000 participating merchants, 10 of which make over a billion in earnings. What is most enticing to investors is, in large part, the giants who have chosen this startup that was created 6 years ago in San Francisco and which arrived in Europe last September to take its first steps in the Bitcoin field: from Microsoft to PayPal passing through Expedia.
CEO Brian Armstrong made note that transactions have increased by 4% since the beginning of 2014 and he predicts closing the current year at +12%. The funding that they have just received will be used to extend the presence from “19 countries involved in 2014 to 30 by the end of 2015”. In total, the company raised over 105 million.
