NEWS
NEWS
NEWS
Bitcoin exchange Coinbase raises $10.5m Series D in round led by Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi
Bitcoin exchange Coinbase, Inc. has raised $10.5 million Series D in a round led by Japanese banking giant Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) that included the bank’s Mitsubishi UFJ Capital unit, and Sozo Ventures.
The funding came with a new strategic deal between the company and BTMU that Coinbase said in a statement would support their long-term international expansion efforts; in that same statement, Coinbase reiterated its mission to create a worldwide open financial system which will act as a bridge between conventional financial institutions and the digital currency ecosystem.
“Partnering with leading global financial institutions is a key part of our strategy and we are thrilled to be working with BTMU,” the statement added.
Founded in 2012, Coinbase offers a range of bitcoin payment services, including bitcoin wallets, exchange, and merchant services and had 1.8 million users and 37,000 merchants using its services and operated in 32 countries as of January 2015 when it raised a Series C round of $75 million.
Expansion and contraction
Coinbase does not currently offer bitcoin services in Japan, but the interest by Japanese investors will likely see it expanding not only into Japan but across Asia; the only country the company serves in the region currently is Singapore.
The news comes at the same time Coinbase has announced it would be withdrawing services for Canadian customers and has informed its Canadian users they must liquidate their CAD holdings by July 29.
“As of August 1, Coinbase’s Canadian payments provider, Vogogo, will be shutting down its payment processing business,” Coinbase said in an email sent to users. “When this occurs, Coinbase will no longer be able to support Canadian EFT transfers, Interac transfers or the storage of customer CAD on Coinbase.”
“We are disappointed to lose the ability to offer these payment methods for our Canadian customers and hope to provide additional payment methods in the future,” the email added.
According to Nasdaq Vogogo’s decision to exit their payment processing business could have ripple effects throughout the bitcoin industry, as other bitcoin exchanges, notably Kraken, Inc., had previously been using the company for CAD transactions.
Including the new round, Coinbase has raised $117.2 million to date; previous investors include DFJ Growth, The New York Stock Exchange, USAA, BBVA (Brazil), NTT Docomo (Japan), Valar Capital Group, Andreessen Horowitz, Reddit Capital, Union Square Ventures and a number of individuals.
Image credit: btckeychain/Flickr/CC by 2.0
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