Kraken bitcoin exchange secured $5 million for its Series A funding round, a statement about the funding said.
Hummingbird Ventures led the round for the online exchange of digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ripple, Litecoin, Namecoin, Dogecoin and Ven. A division of Payward Inc, Kraken is a platform that allows the trading of digital currencies on protected hardware. In addition to fast deposits and withdrawals, Kraken also allows for margin trading and advanced ordering. It has formed a strategic partnership with Fidor AG, a German online bank, to facilitate trading, the statement said.
In the statement, Kraken Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jesse Powell said, "We're excited to get significant funding to expand Kraken, which already has the most advanced order types, from the newest of users to the most sophisticated traders. We're looking forward to forging strong bank relationships in the US and elsewhere in the world, as we have in the EU, and expanding our global footprint."
A full-featured professional digital currency exchange and trading platform, Kraken was rolled out in September last year and now ranks as the top Euro exchange in the world. It took two years for Kraken to develop a regulated "forex meets bitcoin" platform that provides sophisticated trading schools, rich user interface, reliable technical security and compliance to regulations for bitcoin traders, the statement said.
The statement said that the digital currency exchange business is challenging because of the technical requirements, need to adhere to legal rules and the general administration. Because of how quickly the digital currency has developed, the US needs its own digital currency exchange that is at par with other areas in the world. The biggest Bitcoin market may be in the US but a major portion of the liquidity of the crypto-currency happens outside the US. Kraken intends to revolutionize that, the statement said.
Join the Conversation