Bitcoin seems to moving away from its seedy reputation as a digital currency for the underworld.
Coinbase, a San Francisco based startup founded in June 2012. It provides a Bitcoin “wallet and platform where merchants and consumers can transact with the new digital currency bitcoin.” If you look at their ‘About‘ page, their kitchen looks spiffy.
Coinbase announced a $25 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz and including Union Square Ventures and Ribbit Capital, both existing investors. This brings their funding to $31 million, including the $6 million they announce on their website. Representatives of Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square will join Coinbase’s board.
According to Bloomberg, other high profile VC firms have invested in Bitcoin companies, such as Tim Draper and Founders Fund. Otherwise, we have seen novelty acts in this space, such as the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF.
Much of the trepidation around Bitcoin stems from the regulatory issues. Basically, many people (me included) expect the U.S. federal government to view Bitcoin with hostility, despite recent noises that they are okay with it. To that end, Coinbase says that they will be spending a lot of money for licenses with state regulators.