One of the largest online payment companies in the world, PayPal has announced an investment in a startup blockchain. Cambridge Blockchain helps financial institutions and other companies manage sensitive data using shared records. It is nothing more than the first investment of the payments giant in a company that uses crypto-technology.
The companies did not disclose the value of the contribution. But SEC filings, according to Coindesk, point out that PayPal’s investment was modest. Cambridge Blockchain has received $ 3.5 million in the last nine months, divided between PayPal, Omidyar Network, Flourish, and Future / Perfect Ventures. That funding preceded the closing of a $ 7 million round. Therefore, the total capital received by the company is $ 10.5 million.
However, this is an important move of the payments giant, as it recognizes in Blockchain a tool to boost its business.
To corroborate this, to Coindesk, PayPal said:
“We made an investment in Cambridge Blockchain because it is using digital identity technology 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. “
Cambridge Blockchain CEO Matthew Commons said PayPal has been involved with the company since last year. For example, the company was one of the startups in the “Fintech Europe 2018” acceleration program sponsored by PayPal.
In addition, Cambridge Blockchain has a partnership with LuxTrust, which has the support of the Luxembourg government and financial institutions in the region. Coincidentally, PayPal moved its European headquarters to Luxembourg and received a banking license there. Then there was a natural affinity between institutions.
Cambridge Blockchain
Cambridge Blockchain, based in Massachusetts, stores, shares and validates data using blockchains. The startup has 15 employees spread across offices in the US, Paris and a newly established base in Beijing. The company’s cake cherry is related to personal data integration and customer knowledge verification (KYC) required to open accounts at banks and other financial service providers. In addition, it works with sensitive data from the Foxconn supply chain.
This is an obvious use case for PayPal, which has hundreds of millions of accounts worldwide. As well as other platforms like Venmo, Hyperwallet and, Swift Financial.
