• Lakestar leads largest venture investment in Europe in fintech since Brexit –

Blockchain, the world’s leading software platform for digital assets, announced that it has raised $40 million in a Series B led by Lakestar with participation from GV (formerly Google Ventures), Nokota Management, Digital Currency Group and existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mosaic Venture Partners, Prudence Holdings, Virgin, and Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Group).

This fundraising round represents the most substantial investment in the fintech space since Brexit and is the largest Series B raised by any digital currency company to date.

“We are thrilled to lead the investment in Blockchain and believe in their vision of a more transparent, affordable, and fair financial future. To have Blockchain, the leader in fintech, based in Europe reinforces what innovation and impact the Eurozone is capable of achieving,” said DharmashMistry, General Partner at Lakestar.

Founded in 2011 as an open source software project, today Blockchain offers the largest digital asset platform in the world. The company’s wallet software has empowered millions of active users in 140 countries across the globe to transact quickly and without costly intermediaries, resulting in billions of monthly consumer transaction volume. They also offer tools for developers and real time transaction data for users to analyze the burgeoning digital economy.

“The pace of innovation in the digital currency space is unmatched,” said Tom Hulme, General Partner at GV. “We were impressed by Blockchain’s consistent market traction and dedication to building secure financial products for an increasing number of users.” 

The new capital will support global expansion and localization efforts as well as research and development of emerging digital assets. Blockchain’s CEO and Co-Founder, Peter Smith stated, “The 14 trillion dollar financial services industry hasn’t meaningfully changed in over a century. Blockchain is on a mission to create a financial system that is faster, more inclusive, and radically different than the status quo.”

In 2014, the company raised $30.5 million in what was the largest investment in the digital currency industry at the time. Investor and current board member Jeremy Liew from Lightspeed Venture Partners confirmed, “Blockchain was one of the first digital currency wallets, quickly grew to market leadership, and has only extended its lead since then. Now that bitcoin and Blockchain have started to get broader traction, they are the best positioned to become the mainstream leaders.”