INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Cryptocurrency startup Circle has raised a $110 million funding round, which values the company near $3 billion
Cryptocurrency mining company Bitmain is leading the round.
Existing investors IDG Capital, Breyer Capital, General Catalyst, Accel, Digital
Currency Group and Pantera are investing more money
Blockchain Capital and Tusk Ventures are investing in Circle for the first time
Goldman Sachs also invested in the company in a previous round.
It hard to describe Circle in a few words because the company has been
For a really long time, the company pitched itself as a social payment company, a Venmo and Square Cash competitor
But Circle is more focused than ever on cryptocurrencies.
The company has been operating one of the largest over-the-counter trading desks
for big cryptocurrency investors and exchanges
Circle Trade manages more than $2 billion a month in transactions and is able to fulfill large orders and provide liquidity.
More recently,
the company launched Circle Invest, a really simple mobile app for the U.S
It lets you buy and sell Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Zcash and Monero in just a few taps
It a good way to get started with cryptocurrencies without learning about exchanges and order types
It could become a good Coinbase competitor for small cryptocurrency investors.
And Circle also acquired Poloniex, one of the largest
cryptocurrency exchanges in the U.S.
But the most interesting projects right now are probably CENTRE and a new tokenized USD coin
There are so many different cryptocurrencies, fiat currencies, exchanges and wallets that it has become hard to make everything work
Cryptocurrencies still suffer from price volatility, so bitcoin can&t be the common denominator.
That why Circle is creating a token that is
The USD Coin is based on an open source framework developed by CENTRE and everything should be audited regularly.
CENTRE is a Circle
initiative to create a common framework to connect all electronic wallets
This protocol could let you send money to an Alipay user with your Square Cash balance.
It clear that Circle wants to build the
infrastructure of the cryptocurrency industry
The company will need to convince multiple industry players to work with Circle, but it could help the cryptocurrency ecosystem as a whole.
