US-based cryptofinance technology provider Circle has secured $110m in a series E round led by strategic partner Bitmain, a supplier of bitcoin mining systems, it disclosed yesterday.
The round valued Circle at almost $3bn according to Recode, and included IDG Capital, Breyer Capital, General Catalyst, Accel, Digital Currency Group, Pantera Capital, Blockchain Capital and Tusk Ventures.
Circle operates cryptocurrency investment, transfer and trading platforms intended to make the cryptotrading process easy and efficient. It revealed the funding alongside the launch of Circle USDC, an internally developed currency which is backed by the US dollar and intended to be stable.
Stability is largely viewed as the next step for cryptocurrencies, enabling them to be used in everyday financial transactions. USDC was created using an open-source framework overseen by Centre, a network that has developed protocols concerning stable cryptocurrencies.
In addition to leading the series E round, Bitmain will support USDC and Centre itself, and will assist the latter in introducing multiple fiat ‘stablecoins’ around the world.
Circle has now raised $246m since it was founded in 2013. It last raised funding in a $60m series D round in mid-2016 featuring internet group Baidu, online lender CreditEase and automotive component supplier Wanxiang.
IDG Capital and Breyer Capital co-led the series D, which reportedly valued Circle at $480m, and which also featured Everbright, China International Capital Corporation’s CICC Alpha fund, General Catalyst and angel investors Sam Palmisano and Glenn Hutchins.
The company’s earlier investors include investment banking firm Goldman Sachs, Breyer Capital, General Catalyst, Accel, Pantera, Oak Investment Partners, Fenway Summer, Digital Currency Group and Bitcoin Opportunity Fund.