Small business insurance from £5.13 a month.Get a quote.
ENTREPRENEUR HANDBOOK
  • Start a business
  • Buyer guides
    • Finance & insurance
    • Software & services
  • Topics
    • Finance
    • Insurance
    • Technology
    • Marketing
    • Human resources
    • Legal
    • eCommerce
    • Leadership
    • Procurement
    • Investing
    • News
  • More
    • Advertise with us
    • Subscribe
    • Privacy policy
    • Terms of use
    • Contact us
Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
  • Finance
  • Insurance
  • Technology
  • Marketing
  • Human resources
  • Legal
  • eCommerce
  • Procurement
  • Leadership
ENTREPRENEUR HANDBOOK
  • Start a business
  • Buyer guides
    • Finance & insurance
    • Software & services
  • Topics
    • Finance
    • Insurance
    • Technology
    • Marketing
    • Human resources
    • Legal
    • eCommerce
    • Leadership
    • Procurement
    • Investing
    • News
  • More
    • Advertise with us
    • Subscribe
    • Privacy policy
    • Terms of use
    • Contact us
Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
ENTREPRENEUR HANDBOOK
Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin startups: Gaining confidence as the currency matures

Learn how startups in the bitcoin space are building an entire eco-system around the crypto currency

Published by Misha Vaswani, last update Oct 24, 2020
A team of entrepreneurs working together on their new Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency based business

The latest wave Bitcoin news has demonstrated a renewed interest in the cryptocurrency’s potential, with some positive signs emerging. A host of mainstream websites, including Reddit, WordPress, Overstock & Shopify, are all now accepting Bitcoin payments. But what’s of even more interest is the recent large-scale funding that Bitcoin-related companies have attracted.

Following a controversial history and highly volatile price movements (going from under $1 the year of its introduction to over $1000 last year, with several crashes in between), are we likely to see Bitcoin, and associated Bitcoin companies, become a stable & credible investment class for the future?

Related posts

  • 181 Business accelerators in the UK for startups & entrepreneurs
  • What is the most traded currency pair?
  • 153 Business incubators for UK for startups & entrepreneurs

Record-breaking VC Funding in the last 6 months

Bitpay, a US merchant processor, (a similar service to PayPal but using Bitcoin), has raised $30m in a record-breaking deal for Bitcoin-related VC investment. Backers included Index Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Horizons Ventures and Sir Richard Branson. Bitpay is now able to rapidly expand its geographical reach and customer base, growing at a rate of over 1,000 merchants per week.

Another merchant processor and wallet provider, Coinbase, has also raised $25m, in the second-largest Bitcoin deal to date. Led by Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon-Valley VC firm, the funding will allow them to “promote the mainstream adoption of Bitcoin” according to their spokesperson. Coinbase has already received a lot of positive press, being named the second most exciting tech start-up by Time magazine in 2013.

The third-largest deal was Xapo, a wallet and secure storage provider, who raised $20 from a consortium led by Benchmark, Fortress and Ribbit Capital. In the wake of the collapse of the Mt.Gox exchange, investors are seeking secure, insured virtual storage for their Bitcoin assets, and Xapo provides such as service, targeting hedge funds, family offices and wealth funds.

Then there’s Blockchain, the world’s most visited Bitcoin site, who might not have had large VC investment but are already turning a profit. As well as providing wallet services, Blockchain is a block explorer, providing data on mined blocks and Bitcoin-related charts and statistics.

Accelerators are also becoming active in the Bitcoin space. Boost VC, a California-based accelerator founded by the Draper family, has already invested in Coinbase and Bitpay and counts numerous Bitcoin startups in its portfolio.

And now the Winklevos twins (best known for their battle with Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook) have launched the Bitcoin Investment Trust, a vehicle for investors to get exposure to the Bitcoin price without having to physically buy Bitcoins.

Potential issues facing Bitcoin startups

Bitcoin’s controversial history is all too well known, particularly the silk road drug site’s use of the currency, the closure of many European and US exchanges amid security breaches, and the recent collapse of Mt. Gox in Japan. Although the illicit use of Bitcoin has subsided due to various measures, the main issue remains consumer protection. Better encryption technology to avoid theft and insurance schemes can help, but more education of consumers on managing financial risk, as with any financial asset, is paramount.

Related posts

  • 181 Business accelerators in the UK for startups & entrepreneurs
  • What is the most traded currency pair?
  • 153 Business incubators for UK for startups & entrepreneurs

Another issue is regulation. While China and Russia have adopted a very strict approach (the latter banning its use altogether), Europe and the US have yet to fully develop a proper framework. Within the EU there is still disagreement on how to classify Bitcoin, with Germany considering it a currency but the Netherlands maintaining that it is solely a technological innovation. The US interprets it as property rather than a currency, which has also sparked debate on how Bitcoin should be taxed.

Related topics

Tags: BitcoinStartups

Related Posts

Quotron board showing crypto currency movements on an exchange
Cryptocurrency

How crypto exchanges make money

Many cryptocurrency exchanges have sprouted up and contributed to billions of dollars in trading volumes over the past decade. The ...

Published by Editorial team
4th March 2021
Ethereum sign
Cryptocurrency

What is margin trading and how to use it to become more profitable

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) new margin rules that took effect on September 1 have sent the bourse ...

Published by Editorial team
11th October 2020
Bitcoin symbol shown in blockchain code
Cryptocurrency

Indisputable facts that will help you understand Bitcoin better

By now, we’ve all heard about cryptocurrencies, one of the undisputed trends of today. However, even the most ardent crypto ...

Published by Editorial team
1st September 2020
Bitcoin symbols set next to technology influenced graphics showing bitcoin as a next gen payment solution
Cryptocurrency

Pros & cons of accepting Bitcoin for a small business

When you are running an eCommerce business, or even an offline business with an eCommerce component, there is one golden ...

Published by Editorial team
24th October 2020
A picture of queen victoria, not quite a crypto queen but close
Cryptocurrency

The case of the missing crypto queen

The missing crypto queen is a story about Ruja Ignatova, who gave herself this title while convincing people to invest ...

Published by Editorial team
15th February 2020
Representation of digital currency using blue dots cascading
Cryptocurrency

Are Cryptocurrencies still worth investing in?

Following the significant incremental rise of cryptocurrencies, their trading value has declined over the last few years - although, over ...

Published by Editorial team
29th November 2019

About

  • Advertise with us
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms of use
  • Contact us

Sections

  • Finance
  • Insurance
  • Technology
  • Marketing
  • Human resources
  • Legal
  • eCommerce
  • Leadership
  • Procurement
  • Investing
  • News
  • Start a business
  • Buyer guides

  • Advertise with us
  • Buyer guides
  • Contact us
  • Cookie list
  • Datastorm notice
  • Finance & insurance
  • Home Alpha
  • Join the Entrepreneur Handbook community
  • Notifications error
  • Popular
  • Privacy & cookie policy
  • Products
  • Software & services
  • Start a business
  • Terms and conditions of use
  • Test page: superscript
  • Thanks for subscribing!

Copyright © 2013 - 2021 Entrepreneur Handbook Ltd. All rights reserved. Registered offices at 20-22 Wenlock Road, London, N1 7GU, United Kingdom.

  • Finance
  • Insurance
  • Technology
  • Marketing
  • Human resources
  • Legal
  • eCommerce
  • Leadership
  • Procurement
  • Investing
  • Start a business
  • Buyer guides
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms of use
  • Contact us

Copyright © 2013 - 2021 Entrepreneur Handbook Ltd. All rights reserved. Registered offices at 20-22 Wenlock Road, London, N1 7GU, United Kingdom.