Blockstream raises $55M in Series A

What does Blockstream do?

Blockstream,  is a leader in blockchain and related technologies. They are a group of people who share a vision of how to transform global systems of value exchange. The company’s core area of innovation is sidechains, a technology which is focused on improving on the blockchain, which is distributed trust systems’ most powerful public utility. Sidechains are block chains which are interoperable with each other and with bitcoin, avoiding market fluctuations, liquidity shortages, fragmentation, outright fraud, security breaches which are associated with the alternative crypto currencies.

How much Blockstream was funded?

Blockstream raised $55M in Series A on February 3, 2016 from Digital Garage, AXA Strategic Ventures and Horizons Ventures.

Previous funding

$21M on November 17, 2014 from Flight Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Reid Hoffman,  Innovation Endeavors, Danny Hillis, Real Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Mosaic Ventures, Blockchain Capital, AME Cloud Ventures, Embrase, SK Ventures and Future Perfect Ventures.

What is next for Blockstream?

Blockstream has announced its 1^st commercial sidechain offering last year, called Liquid. This provides an interchange settlement service for the brokerages and bitcoin exchanges. The company also recently announced a strategic partnership with PwC for brining these capabilities for establishing industry sectors and companies exploring new blockchain applications. As part of the latest funding Horizons has joined the company’s board of directors. The company plans to use the funding for expanding its operations worldwide and for supporting industry partners.

More about Blockstream

The company was founded by Jonathan Wilkins, Jorge Timón, Adam Back, Erik Svenson, Francesca Hall, Gregory Maxwell, Mark Friedenbach, Pieter Wuille, Matt Corallo and Alex Fowler. It provides companies with the most mature and well tested and secure infrastructure in production- the Bitcoin protocol extended through inter operable sidechains.  The company’s technology is at the bleeding edge of computer science and brings in a new paradigm of programmable trust.