Quote from: AirFlame on January 26, 2015, 04:26:30 PM

Quote from: Walsoraj on January 26, 2015, 04:22:27 PM

http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2015/01/26/digital-payments-company-ripple-labs-finalizing-30-million-funding-round/

Quote

Ripple Labs Inc., the developer of a bitcoin-like technology that enables institutions to transfer money internationally, is closing in on a $30 million funding round, Venture Capital Dispatch has learned.

A spokesman for the company, formerly called OpenCoin, confirmed it is working on a new financing but declined to provide details.

A person familiar with the situation said the deal places the post-money valuation of the San Francisco startup at about $100 million.

Investors in the Series A round will include Andreessen Horowitz, Google Ventures, IDG Capital Partners and other existing investors, the person said. Ripple previously raised more than $3.5 million from a number of backers including Bitcoin Opportunity Fund, Camp One Ventures, Core Innovation Capital, FF Angel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Vast Ventures and Venture51.

Ripple has created a decentralized payments network that helps validate transactions using a digital currency technology similar to bitcoin. The goal is to reduce the cost and time it takes to make cross-border payments in various currencies. The company is targeting use by banks and remittance providers, rather than consumers.

The company signed on two American banks, Cross River Bank and CBW Bank, last year, as well as Fidor Bankin Germany, to use the Ripple network to enable customers to instantly send money internationally. The network allows smaller banks to avoid the use of large intermediate banks that take fees on such transactions.

Ripple is tapping into the promise of the distributed verification systems that underlie digital currencies such as bitcoin and Ripples digital coin. These systems can help speed up and reduce the cost of financial transactions, as well as a variety of other transactions. Venture investors are increasingly talking about the value of this type of distributed ledger system as a basis for all kinds of applications, not just currency.

Though bitcoin itself has many potential uses, including as a system for improving the efficiency of payments and financial infrastructure, speculation has resulted in swings in its price. The volatility of that digital currency has kept some venture investors on the sidelines, even as others have plunged in.

The largest venture investment in a bitcoin company took place recently, when investors put $75 million into Coinbase Inc. Bitcoin-based startups have attracted roughly $439 million in venture capital in recent years, according to bitcoin-market tracker Coindesk.

Gonna be huge, and bullish as fuck. Amirite, guys? Tongue

A spokesman for the company, formerly called OpenCoin, confirmed it is working on a new financing but declined to provide details.

Ok, so it might be over 30 million, perhaps even over 75 million? Gotcha.