Chinese exchange raises $10m investment from Bitcoin bugs
CRYPTOCURRENCY Bitcoin has been given a new lease of life in China, despite a recent crackdown in the world’s second largest economy.
The company that claims to be China’s largest Bitcoin exchange by volume – called OKCoin – has announced a $10m Series A funding round, with venture capital firm Ceyuan leading the way, followed by Mandra Capital, Ventures Lab and a string of other angel investors.
This amounts to one of the largest cases of Bitcoin financing so far. OKCoin recently became China’s first virtual currency trading platform.
“We are delighted to invest in the pioneer of China’s Bitcoin exchanges; given the company’s leadership under Star Xu and his team, we know there is much more good news ahead,” said founder and partner at Ceyuan, Feng Bo.
The investment in the exchange will be used to expand the team, increase security and product research.
Last year, Chinese authorities instructed all third party payment companies to stop offering clearing services to Bitcoin exchanges by 31 January.