PayPal Just Invested In A Blockchain Startup
PayPal, which is an online payments giant, has made a huge step in the blockchain world. The company has reportedly decided to make its first-ever investment in a blockchain tech company. Here is everything about it in a nutshell.
Funding Cambridge Blockchain
According to the official report, PayPal has taken part of a Series A funding round in Cambridge Blockchain. The latter is basically a startup that aims to provide support to financial institutions and other companies when it comes to managing their data through shared ledgers.
Apparently, though, both Cambridge Blockchain and PayPal decided not to disclose any information about the invested amount. But as far as recent filings with the SEC are concerned, it appears that the startup has been successful in raising at least $3.5 million in new equity from a handful of investors over the past few months.
The aforementioned figure follows the $7 million close of the company’s Series A in May last year. This simply brings the total funding amount to roughly $10.5 million.
The first funding reportedly consisted of about $4 million of new capital alongside $3 million of converted notes. Even more so, the latter figure came from a number of investors. These include the likes of Foxconn’s VC arm called HCM Capital and Digital Currency Group. It is worth noting that the former investor is known for manufacturing iPhone for Apple.
Financial Services Companies To Benefit
As for the subsequent $3.5 million, it is said to have been given by PayPal. Interestingly, the amount also has a portion of funding from the philanthropic investment company started by eBay’s founder called Omidyar Network, Flourish (the financial inclusion investment spinoff of Omidyar), and Future/Perfect Ventures. Based on how this part right here went off, it appears that PayPal’s investment is modest but symbolically significant.
As for the online payments giant’s investment, a spokesperson of the company said that the investment made to Cambridge Blockchain is due to the startup’s decision to apply blockchain for digital identity. By doing so, PayPal is confident that it could benefit financial services companies like them. The spokesperson added that the investment can pave the way for exploring potential collaborations in an attempt to leverage blockchain technology.
According to Matthew Commons, the CEO at Cambridge Blockchain, PayPal has been involved with the startup in a lot of ways for the past year or so. An interesting event was during the Fintech Europe 2018, which saw the startup as one of the participants. Apparently, PayPal sponsored the said event.