Digital Currency Group (DCC), the Bitcoin venture investment firm of SecondMarket founder Barry Silbert, has secured investment from a number of notable players in the financial industry.
Among them are MasterCard, which has until now largely steered clear of digital currency, and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), which disclosed its interest in Blockchain technology four months ago.
MasterCard now joins the other two credit card giants, Visa and American Express, with its interest in blockchain technology.
Other investors in DCC include Bain Capital Ventures, CME Ventures, FirstMark Capital, New York Life Insurance, Novel TMT Ventures, Oak HC/FT, RRE Ventures, Solon Mack Capital and Transamerica Ventures.
The investment was announced yesterday at the Money20/20 conference is Las Vegas. The amount invested was not disclosed.
DCC was formed through the merging and break-off of two Bitcoin-focused subsidiaries of SecondMarket Solutions, which was recently acquired by Nasdaq. The subsidiaries were Genesis Global Trading, a bitcoin trading firm, and Grayscale Investments, which manages the publicly traded shares of Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:GBTC).
Silbert said that DCC will be operated as a holding company, not an investment fund. “Being structured as a company, versus a fund, allows us to evolve with the industry given our permanent capital base and flexible mandate,” he commented.
