Coinbase, the giant digital currency exchange, reports that it added $300 million USD after its latest fundraising round. As a result, the company says that its value now surpasses the $8 billion USD mark.
Coinbase Sees Tremendous Promise in Crypto
On October 30, 2018, Asiff Hirji, President and CEO, Coinbase, announced that the company had raised the additional amount of USD 300 million in its latest fundraising effort which was led by Tiger Global Management. Coinbase officially announced:
Today, we’re pleased to announce that Coinbase will add an additional $300 million of investment at a valuation of over $8 billion to accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. The Series E equity round is led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from Y Combinator Continuity, Wellington Management, Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain and others.
Several other investment management firms also participated in the fundraising, such as Y Combinator Continuity, Wellington Management, Andreessen Horowitz, and Polychain.
In making the announcement, Hirji expressed his optimism about the future of the crypto industry,
We see tremendous promise in crypto to build the next great phase of the internet (often referred to as Web 3), which has the power to put control back in the hands of consumers, unleash a new era of innovation, and offer greater access to economic opportunities to more people around the world.
What’s more, the company also released its first ever video commercial, which you can check out below.
At Coinbase, we believe that cryptocurrencies and the technologies that power them represent a breakthrough in computer science that will change both the internet and the global financial system for the better. pic.twitter.com/soaFnatNoH
— Coinbase 🛡️ (@coinbase) October 30, 2018
Coinbase Doubles Its Engineering Staff as Part of Its Business Expansion Strategy
The San Francisco-based exchange thus shows that it continues full steam ahead with its strategy of global expansion. It already boasts more than 1,000 employees, including contractors, distributed around the world. Early this year, the company asserted that it had doubled the size of its engineering team in the past year.
Steady with its expansionist plan, the company will be using this additional financing to accelerate the adoption rate of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, to speed-up the offering of crypto assets, and to encourage financial institutions to participate in the crypto market, among other initiatives.
Coinbase blog details how it will use the financing as follows:
• Global expansion–building the infrastructure between fiat and crypto in regulated markets around the world;
• Offering more crypto assets, quickly — we see hundreds of cryptocurrencies that could be added to our platform today, and we will lay the groundwork to support thousands in the future;
• Utility applications for crypto — like the recently announced support for a stablecoin (USDC) on Coinbase and our continued development of Coinbase Wallet; and
• Bringing institutions into crypto — adding features and crypto assets to our Custody offering to bring more institutional funds into the crypto space.
To achieve its expansionist objectives, Coinbase needs to attract more talent, so if you’re interested, you can check this job site.
What do you think of Coinbase’s efforts to accelerate its global expansion? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock
