It looks like cryptocurrency is here to stay.
Paxos, a blockchain-powered trust, just closed a staggering $65 million Series B round. The funding was lead by Liberty City Ventures, RRE Ventures and Jay Jordan — all existing investors in the company.
Prior to a 2016 rebrand, Paxos was founded in 2013 as itBit. itBit established itself as the first fully-regulated cryptocurrency exchange, with a focus on institutional investments. Paxos soon grew beyond its itBit product, and now offers a suite of products that help streamline and simplify settlements in financial markets — all powered by the blockchain, of course.
Now, fresh funds in hand, Paxos is focusing on scaling their product and taking the power of the blockchain into international markets. In a statement on the funding, Paxos COO Andrew Chang explained, "This additional funding will further our goals to eliminate settlement risk and expand our product offerings across geographies.”
This additional funding will further our goals to eliminate settlement risk and expand our product offerings across geographies.”
He continued, "We are continuing to invest in expanding our platform that simplifies our financial infrastructure, offers greater control and lays the foundation for the future."
As Paxos expands, it also leads the charge of companies working to bring blockchain and cryptocurrency technology into the financially regulated sphere. Following the Bitcoin boom of late 2017, many companies clamored for their piece of the pie, attempting to incorporate the technology into their products or launching risky ICOs to fundraise.
Paxos, on the other hand, operates under the trust guidelines of the New York Department of Financial Services — a regulation it earned earlier this year. Chief Executive Charles Cascarilla recognizes the potential evident in the blockchain to transform financial institutions: "It is a crucial time in the financial markets,” he said in a statement. “We are at an inflection point to reduce the risk in our financial system and free capital trapped by an archaic settlement system.”
With such a surge of funding, Paxos is poised to become a leader in bourgeoning world of blockchain based trading and investing.
