U.S Based Online Payment Giant—PayPal, Makes First Blockchain Related Investment

U.S based online payments giant—PayPal, has recently made it first blockchain technology-related investment. According to the report announcing the investment, PayPal reportedly joined the extension of a Series A funding round in Cambridge Blockchain.

Amount invested by PayPal not Yet Disclosed

This is a startup focused on helping financial institutions and other companies articulate and manage sensitive data using shared ledgers.

Although the amount invested by Paypal into the startup has not been disclosed yet, a recent filing with the financial watchdog, SEC revealed that the startup has raised a total of $3.5 million in new equity from several investors over the past nine months.
Going by this number and the $7 million close of its Series A in May of 2018, the startup has raised a total capital of about $10.5 million.

That first $7 million is broken down into two parts. The first part is $4 million of new capital while the second portion is $3 million of converted notes, which originated from several investors, including HCM Capital, the VC arm of Foxconn, which manufactures the iPhone for Apple, as well as Digital Currency Group.
The $3.5 million recently filed with the SEC, is a product of PayPal’s involvement with the startup along with Omidyar Network, a self-styled “philanthropic investment firm,” composed of a foundation and an impact investment firm. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam.

PayPal’s First Crypto Investment

Confirming PayPal’s involvement in the funding processes. A spokesperson from the company said:

“We made an investment in Cambridge Blockchain because it is applying blockchain for digital identity in a way that we believe could benefit financial services companies including PayPal. Our investment will allow us to explore potential collaborations to leverage blockchain technology.”

The spokesperson also confirmed that Cambridge is PayPal’s first investment in a blockchain company. Hopefully more is to follow.