Coinbase, a US-based cryptocurrency management platform backed by several corporate investors, has entered talks to raise about $100m, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
The new funding would be raised at a valuation of $1bn, people familiar with the matter told the WSJ.
Coinbase operates an online platform that enables users to buy, store and trade cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ethereum and litecoin. The investment would be timely, with the former two having reached record highs today.
The transaction would follow some $115m of venture capital, including $10.5m in a July 2016 round featuring financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ subsidiaries as well as VC fund Sozo Ventures.
Mobile network NTT Docomo’s corporate venturing vehicle Docomo Capital had taken part in a $75m series C round in early 2015 that valued Coinbase at $490m, and which included financial services providers USAA and BBVA and stock exchange operator New York Stock Exchange.
DFJ Growth, Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, Ribbit Capital and angel investors Vikram Pandit and Tom Glocer also participated in the series C round, and the company’s earlier backers reportedly include Y Combinator and IDG Ventures.