Written by Gene OkerlundcontributorReviewed by Cyril Gilsonformer editorSecure Bitcoin storage company raises $20 million
Latest NewsPublishedMar 14, 2014
Xapo Ltd. announced Friday that it had secured a first round of funding worth $20 million, Bloomberg reports.
Xapo Ltd. announced Friday that it had secured a first round of funding worth $20 million, Bloomberg reports.
Xapo combines an online wallet with a cold-storage vault to make using and securing Bitcoins easier for users.
The round of funding was led by VC firm Benchmark, in coordination with Silicon Valley’s Ribbit Capital and the Fortress Investment Group. We reported on some of Fortress’ activity earlier this month.
Xapo CEO Wences Casares did not comment on his company’s valuation, but he did note that Xapo is “the first Bitcoin vault fully protected and insured against hacking and bankruptcy.”
If Casares’ name rings a bell, it’s because he was the CEO of Lemon.com, a mobile-payment company that was bought by LifeLock Inc. in December for $50 million.
Security: The big thing right now
The Mt. Gox saga has underscored the need for security in the cryptocurrency economy, and there are some big names getting involved in that particular industry.
Xapo itself already has “several thousand accounts,” according to Bloomberg.
Across the Atlantic in London, Elliptic, which launched in January, is also putting together a collection of services aimed at making cryptocurrencies more secure with its own vault.
Links:
- Bloomberg com - Benchmark backs bitcoin storage provider xapo
- Xapo - https://xapo.com/#home
- Fortress Financial Group - Play Big Lose Big
- https://www.elliptic.co/
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