News Roundup — Blockchain Investments
Who’s been investing in blockchain recently? Following is our roundup of blockchain-related investments over the past couple of weeks:
Report: Blockchain investments growing rapidly in China
Investors have “flocked” into China’s blockchain industry, according to a new whitepaper from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. “The industry is developing rapidly with more and more entrepreneurs and capital entering the market,” said the report, released on 20 May. As a result, the Xinhua News Agency reported that “investors flocked into the market with nearly 100 equity stock investment deals in 2017, the most in recent years”. As of the first quarter of this year, blockchain investments saw another 68 equity deals, indicating that 2018 is likely to surpass last year in investment activity.
Foxconn leads $7m investment in Cambridge Blockchain
HCM Capital, the venture arm of Foxconn Technology Group, led a recent $7m investment in Cambridge Blockchain, a startup working to streamline digital identity for transparency, improved customer experiences and regulatory compliance. Other investors in the Series A funding, announced 15 May, included Partech and Digital Currency Group.
2018 global blockchain investments surpass last year’s totals
Global investment in blockchain-related startups this year — estimated at more than $1.3bn — has already surpassed the amount invested in all of 2017, according to Crunchbase News. With a recent $110m round of funding, the crypto-finance firm Circle recently also joined the “crypto-unicorn club” of blockchain companies valued at more than $1bn, Crunchbase News added.
Ex-BlackRock analysts launch blockchain investment fund
Earlier this month, three analysts with the investment firm BlackRock announced they were leaving to start Eterna Capital, an investment fund focused exclusively on blockchain. Joining CEO Andrea Bonaceto — co-founder and CEO of HiredGrad — Eterna Capital’s other founding partners include BlackRock veterans Nassim Olive, Asim Ahmad and Mattia Mrvosevic. “The opportunity was just too big not to grab — blockchain can potentially be more disruptive than the internet,” the founders wrote in a Medium blog post. “Though we are conscious that ‘disruption’ is not always synonymous with positive impact, we believe that various aspects of this technology have the potential to positively revolutionise society in the long-term. Can we combine blockchain and social impact? Yes, we can!”
Robinhood trading app raises $363m for expanded offerings
The trading app company Robinhood announced 10 May that it had raised $363m in Series D funding to expand its product line-up. The announcement comes on the heels of Robinhood’s recent launch of Robinhood Crypto for commission-free cryptocurrency trading. Led by DST Global, the funding round also saw investment from Capital G, Iconiq, Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia Capital. Robinhood, which also has financial backing from NEA and Thrive Capital, said it will “deploy the capital by accelerating our product expansion even more, investing in our infrastructure and operations, and hiring more world-class talent to join us along the way”.
