PayPal Co-Founder-Backed Fund Invests Millions in Bitpanda
Underscoring the strength of the Bitcoin market, Austria-based cryptocurrency broker Bitpanda announced on September 29th that it had just concluded a $52 million Series A funding round.
The round saw participation from Valar Ventures, a venture fund backed by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, alongside other known and unnamed investors. Bitpanda claims this is "Europe's largest Series A funding round of 2020."
This influx of capital will allow Bitpanda to enter new markets in Europe, after the firm has already established operations in France, Spain, and Turkey since the beginning of the year. Bitpanda also intends on expanding its team by upwards of 70 team members.
"We plan to keep on growing in more European countries during this year and, in 2021, bring financial empowerment across borders and secure a new sense of financial culture. Innovative and dynamic tech calls for high-calibre talent to support growth."
Sticking true to the Bitcoin space's ethos of financial accessibility, the Austrian startup will focus on "democratizing investing" by giving "everyone access to the financial markets," which includes access to bitcoin.
"We want our users to have ownership of their financial future at their fingertips, easily and seamlessly, with the best and most unique features. Rest assured, we will not lose focus as we will, of course, continue driving innovations in crypto. Bitpanda will become an investment platform for asset classes for everyone."
Data sites report that Bitpanda Pro has processed approximately $2.1 million worth of volume in the past 24 hours, most of which was between bitcoin and the euro or bitcoin and the Swiss franc.
Peter Thiel Goes Big on Bitcoin
The investment in Bitpanda by Valar Ventures marks Peter Thiel's latest injection of capital into the Bitcoin space.
Peter Thiel made headlines last year when he led a $50 million funding round into Layer1, a Bitcoin mining company looking to obtain 25% of the network hash rate.
On Bitcoin in particular, Thiel has said that the cryptocurrency will likely become the "online equivalent to gold."