Blockchain.com plans to raise $50 million to fund crypto startups 🚨 This article is 5 years old...
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Blockchain.com plans to raise $50 million to fund crypto startups
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Updated: Feb. 19, 2020 at 2:39 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Blockchain.com, a London-based firm, is raising $50 million to invest in a range of startups and cryptocurrencies, according to a report by Yahoo Finance.
The crypto wallet and data provider is aiming to raise $50 million. The efforts will be directed by a founding partner of Blockchain.com Ventures Sam Harrison. According to Harrison’s LinkedIn profile, the fund is already established and is currently backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Sam Harrison’s LinkedIn profile reads:
“Co-founded Blockchain.com Ventures–A Venture Capital Fund anchored by Blockchain.com, the world’s largest non-custodial wallet platform & Lightspeed Venture Partners.”
In addition, Harrison’s profile suggests that Blockchain.com Ventures is looking for blockchain projects to invest in, claiming it already made investments in Origin Protocol, Coindirect, Sliver.tv, Nodle and other startups.
Blockchain.com is a well-known cryptocurrency wallet supporting Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum that also provides data charts, statistics, and market information about Bitcoin. The company launched in Aug. 30, 2011, and has since raised over $70 million from high profile sources, such as Google, European venture capital fund Lakestar, and British business magnate Richard Branson, according to Crunchbase.
The firm is facing criticism around the crypto community for allegedly interrupting the adoption of Bitcoin because of its failures to implement SegWit and other Bitcoin scaling solutions. According to recognized crypto analyst Tone Vays, the host of the Crypto Scam Podcast, the high costs of Bitcoin transactions on-chain are directly related to Blockchain.com due to its failure to implement the different technologies that have been adopted to improve the network.
Reasons #Bitcoin transactions are way more expensive on-chain than they should be is cause MOST POPULAR yet one of the WORST wallets in #crypto – @blockchain – has NOT implemented #Segwit after saying they were ready in Jan 2017. ?Maybe cause they where funded by @rogerkver ? https://t.co/3uPNB8EB3s
— Tone Vays [Vegas – Unconfiscatable.com] (@ToneVays) May 28, 2019
Blockchain.com CEO Peter Smith stated in 2017 that SegWit was ready to be adopted by his company, but it has refused to do so.
…before the hostile Core replies come: yes I support SW. Yes we are ready for it. And yes I've encouraged others:)
— Peter Smith (@OneMorePeter) January 31, 2017
Despite the criticism, Sir Richard Branson is convinced that this company is “the cutting edge of a growing industry.” Branson concluded:
“[Blockchain.com] will play a pivotal role in this ecosystem and I see the business leading the way in a space that has the potential to disrupt the world of money and centralized institutions.”
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Bitcoin
$98,473.41
Bitcoin, a decentralized currency that defies the sway of central banks or administrators, transacts electronically, circumventing intermediaries via a peer-to-peer network.
Ethereum
$3,431.59
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform that enables the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps).
Bitcoin Cash
$513.708
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a cryptocurrency created via a fork of the Bitcoin network.
Blockchain.com
Blockchain, Inc develops software platform for digital assets.