If you’ve been following cryptocurrency news, you’ve heard PayPal’s name get thrown around. Now the online payment company is actually following through with interest in blockchain technology, by investing in Cambridge Blockchain, a startup that helps manage sensitive data on the shared ledgers. In a extension of Series A funding, PayPal has invested an undisclosed amount with recent filings from the SEC saying Cambridge Blockchain has raised $3.5 million in the last 9 months from several investors.
PayPal now joins the ranks of HCM Capital ( who handles the iPhone manufacturing for Apple as well as Digital Currency Group. Along with PayPal, Omidyar Network ( a philanthropic investment firm ) was apart of the $3.5 million investment. In a statement to the press about the investment, a PayPal spokesperson said,
“We made an investment in Cambridge Blockchain because it is applying blockchain for digital identity 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 Works With Luxembourg Government
In a move that could only be called ” planned ” or ” synchronicity ” PayPal’s headquarters for Europe was moved to Luxembourg and granted a banking license there. PayPal has been working with LuxTrust, which is backed by the government of Luxembourg and other financial institutions in the area. So while PayPal has been talking about blockchain involvement for some time, it looks like they’ve been planning for involvement even longer.
Through the trial by fire of GDPR, Cambridge Blockchain has learned some valuable hands on experience. Cambridge claims they can help reduce the massive duplication of KYC-ing that goes on today. Commons has be quoted saying,
“If you are looking to help get some traction for a distributed identity system, it’s great to have a partner like that.”
