Blockchain Is Latest Bitcoin Start-Up to Lure Big Investment...

Executives at Blockchain, a Bitcoin service. From left, Peter Smith, Nicolas Cary and Ben Reeves.
MATT TUZZOLO
By SYDNEY EMBER
OCTOBER 6, 2014
The bets that Silicon Valley is placing on Bitcoin are getting bigger.

Even though concerns remain about the digital currency’s staying power, Bitcoin start-ups are attracting more dollars from well-known venture capitalists.

In the latest move, Blockchain, a Bitcoin wallet provider and software developer, is expected to announce on Tuesday that it has closed a roughly $30.5 million fund-raising round, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Wicklow Capital. The investment, raised from Blockchain’s first round of outside financing, is one of the biggest in the digital currency industry to date.

Since it was founded in 2011, Blockchain, which is based in Britain, has gained respect in the industry for adhering to the virtual currency’s original philosophy of anonymity and decentralization. Roger Ver, a libertarian known in some circles as the Bitcoin Jesus, was the first backer and supporter of the company.

The price of one Bitcoin, which reached a peak of about $1,150 last year, fell over the weekend to its lowest point of the year after tumbling 20 percent, to about $286, according to CoinDesk, a virtual currency website. Bitcoin was trading on Monday evening at about $330.