We’re hearing that BitPay,
a platform that processes payments in bitcoin for merchants, is raising
the field’s biggest round yet. The company is raising $30 million on a
roughly $160 million valuation in a round led by Index Ventures, with
Richard Branson and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang participating. BitPay
declined to comment.
With BitPay’s previous funding round, the company’s financing tops
the combined $26 million that Boston-based rival Circle has raised from
Accel Partners, or the $31 million that San Francisco-based Coinbase
raised from Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures or the $20
million round that Benchmark led for Xapo.
It’s yet another sign that the bitcoin ecosystem is maturing with big
chunks of funding coming from top-tier venture firms. While there have
been high-profile collapses like Mt.Gox’s bankruptcy, it feels like
every major fund wants at least one bet in the space in case bitcoin
does live up to the hype.
Back in December, BitPay said it had processed more than $100 million in transactions last year. They recently scored backing from Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing through his Horizons Ventures vehicle.
BitPay has also had some high-profile tests with clients like Zynga
and Branson already. BitPay earns revenue via different tiers of
accounts for smaller, medium-sized and enterprise clients that range
from $30 to $300 and then a custom level. They also have a starter kit
that charges 1 percent of all transactions.
The Atlanta-based company has previously raised funding from Founders
Fund, along with angel investors including WordPress’ Matt Mullenweg
and bitcoin regulars Roger Ver and SecondMarket CEO Barry Silbert.
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