Goldman Sachs and GV (formerly Google Ventures) are among major investors in a $25 million funding round for Bitcoin payment network startup Veem, the company confirmed September 26.
Google, Goldman Sachs Bet On Bitcoin Payments
Speaking to Forbes, Veem CEO Marwan Forzley confirmed the successful funding round, which is the most prominent yet since the company first started raising funds back in May 2015.
“What’s important about this round is the acknowledgment of the size of the opportunity, the size of the market, the size of the pain point that we’re solving for,” Forzley told the publication.
And it’s an endorsement of the growth that we’re experiencing.
Veem has gone from under 600 clients in 2015 to over 80,000, signaling the enduring belief that using cryptocurrency as a means of beating banks on bulk payments is a workable long-term business model.
Not just Bitcoin [coin_price], but assets such as Ripple (XRP) [coin_price coin=ripple] and Stellar (XLM)[coin_price coin=stellar] are also fulfilling the needs of market participants, the company associated with former last week signaling its xRapid cross-border payment system would go live within the next month.
‘IPO Down The Line’?
At the same time, banks have openly acknowledged their unease at the prospect of losing custom from the lucrative payment sector.
JPMorgan, the global investment giant infamously skeptical on crypto, has announced its tailor-made Blockchain platform the Interbank Information Network (IIN) had hooked 75 major institutions as a way of keep business “in-house.”
“Payment is one of the segments banks worry most about in terms of ceding to non-bank competition,” an analyst at the bank told the Financial Times Tuesday.
Veem’s investors meanwhile are highly bullish on the future, GV general partner and Veem board member Karim Faris suggesting the company could become the “first” Bitcoin venture to launch an initial public offering (IPO).
“It’s definitely not a strategic thing,” he said about the investment impetus.
It’s an opportunity to create a stand-alone company and in the process make a financial return on a good exit or an IPO down the line.
What do you think about Veem’s funding round? Let us know in the comments below!
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