The actions, which also include an expansion of the board of the six-month-old company, aim to strengthen the investment company as it shifts its focus from the virtual currency Bitcoin to its underlying technology, blockchain.
The amount raised in the round was not disclosed. In addition to money-transfer company Western Union, the firm’s new investors include HCM International, an investment subsidiary of Foxconn; Gibraltar Investments, the venture arm of Prudential Financial, and OMERS Ventures, the investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System.
Digital Currency Group also named two new board members: Glenn Hutchins, a co-founder of private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners, and Lawrence Lenihan, who founded FirstMark Capital and now runs a firm called Resonance. Along with founder Barry Silbert, the firm now has a three-person board.
Western Union is investigating other possible uses of blockchain technology and is considering ways to invest, as well as integrate it into its own services.
Rather than being a refuge for libertarians or gold enthusiasts, Bitcoin will continue to develop into a technology that will improve financial infrastructure.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now