30 Apr Goldman Joins Bitcoin Startup Circle $50M Fundraising
Bloomberg reports that Goldman Sachs Group invested in a $50 million fundraising round in bitcoin startup Circle Internet Financial. According to Bloomberg, another sign of the growing interest in digital currency technology by established financial institutions.
Circle, based in Boston, uses bitcoin-based systems to allow customers to digitally store money and transfer it to and from other people and merchants. The company paired announcement of the fundraising with news that it is launching an app that allows users to transfer US dollars, without a fee.
The round brings Circle’s total funding to $76 million
IDG Capital Partners co-led the round, which also included existing Circle investors such as Breyer Capital, General Catalyst Partners, Accel Partners and Oak Investment Partners, Circle said in a statement late Wednesday.
The round brings Circle’s total funding to $76 million, and “is a material step-up in valuation from our past financing,” Jeremy Allaire, chief executive officer of the Boston-based venture, said in a telephone interview. He declined to disclose the specific value.
International Expansion
“Our hope is to work with Goldman on a commercial basis as we grow the business,” Allaire said.
Circle plans to use the funding for product development and international expansion, he said. Some of the money may go toward marketing a new feature that lets Circle customers hold, send and receive U.S. dollars with no fees. The feature will help turn the company into an international money-transfer service, a peer-to-peer payment service and a bank. Eventually, there are plans to move into other currencies, such as the Chinese yuan, he said.
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