In Brief:
- Blockstream has secured $210 million in fresh investment from a U.K. private equity firm and crypto exchange Bitfinex’s operator.
- The new mining infrastructure will be used in partnerships around the world.
Bitcoin infrastructure firm, Blockstream, raised $210 million in a Series B funding round. After the funding, the company valuation increased to $3.2 billion. The Canadian firm has now hit unicorn status with its latest valuation.
Blockstream’s new backers are the United Kingdom-based private equity firm Baillie Gifford and Hong-Kong-based iFinex.
The company will spend some of the funding on advancing Blockstream’s bitcoin mining products and services like Blockstream Energy. The company will use the rest of the money to build financial infrastructure with bitcoin-focused financial products and Liquid. The liquid is a sidechain-based settlement network that enables faster, more confidential bitcoin transactions.
The company is planning to use its new mining infrastructure in its many partnerships such as their collaboration with Square, where they are developing a solar-powered mining facility.
“We have enormous respect for Blockstream’s founders and management team, and we believe its settlement network for bitcoin-based assets and securities has the potential to transform the design and operation of capital markets,” said a Baillie Gifford spokesperson.
Blockstream chief strategy officer, Samson Mow said the capital will accelerate the company’s growth and help to grow its mining operations. Blockstream recently acquired Spondoolies, a manufacturer of ASICs, devices that mine Bitcoin. The company will use the product for its own operations and develop it to sell on the retail market.
Mow also said that Blockstream aims to raise more capital in the coming months to expand its various initiatives like the Blockstream Satellite network, the launch of a service called Blockstream Energy.
