Block26, a previously unknown venture capital firm with stated investment interests in Blockchain technology, has reportedly invested $450,000 in Airbitz, a mobile bitcoin wallet.
The investment is the first stage of what is claimed to be a larger $1.25 million seed round, which is stated for completion this summer.
Airbitz's platform, available to iOS and Android, aims to be easy to use and secure. Should company servers become inoperational, the company says its wallets can still remain functional on the mobile device.
With the investment, Block26 joins the Airbitz Board of Directors.
Block26's branding itself on blockchain technology is a sign of the times: the technology has taken the spotlight from bitcoin as a currency in showing promise to facilitate decentralized trade and recordkeeping. Blockchain technology-focused firms have been the recipients of increasing flows of investment. It remains to be seen, however, if Block26 will be focusing on the technology or currency moving forward.
Investment in 'traditional' Bitcoin economies, such as wallets and exchanges, appears to be slowing down relative to that in emerging sectors such as sidechains and Analytics . In most cases, it remains to be seen how each technology will generate ROI for investors, considering that most are free to use and based on open source code.
