Visa Leads $40M Funding Round in Crypto Custodian Anchorage

Visa’s crypto ambitions are continuing apace, with the world-leading credit card company recently announced a strategic investment in the digital asset custodian Anchorage.

Raising $40 million in a Visa co-led series B fundraising round with participation from Andreessen Horowitz’s VC firm, Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Read this Term Capital, Anchorage offers institutional custodian that claims to be more secure than storage alternatives while boasting active on-chain participation.

The San Francisco based firm has previously raised $17 million in a Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Also participating in funding were PayPal co-founder Max Levchin’s SciFi VC, Mark McCombe of Blackrock, and AngelList co-founder Naval Ravikant.

Another toe into crypto

Anchorage’s custody offering provides digital asset security without Cold Storage Cold Storage Cold storage is a computer system or mode of operation that is designed for the retention of inactive data, in this case private keys for cryptocurrencies. This helps put up resilient barriers against theft by hackers and malware, and is often a necessary security protocol especially dealing with large amounts of Bitcoin.In order to “own” a cryptocurrency, one must be in control of a cryptocurrency’s private keys. As such, private keys are long strings of random characters that can be used to se Cold storage is a computer system or mode of operation that is designed for the retention of inactive data, in this case private keys for cryptocurrencies. This helps put up resilient barriers against theft by hackers and malware, and is often a necessary security protocol especially dealing with large amounts of Bitcoin.In order to “own” a cryptocurrency, one must be in control of a cryptocurrency’s private keys. As such, private keys are long strings of random characters that can be used to se Read this Term because of its limitations, such as vulnerabilities to human error, theft, and inaccessibility. As such, the company claims that it solves a major industry problem as cold storage also renders the asset illiquid to an extent as it becomes inaccessible and slow to move.

In turn, Visa is dipping another toe into cryptocurrency space after the company joined major players to back Facebook’s crypto plans. The financial giant has been looking to embed itself in emerging payment forms and has already developed partnerships with cryptocurrency and blockchain firms.

The move is part of the company’s broader push to expand its reach beyond the credit card industry, where it is one of the dominant players worldwide.

Anchorage is also among over a dozen companies investing up to $10 million each to back Facebook’s new cryptocurrency, Libra. Both companies are part of the Libra Association, giving them a say in how the cryptocurrency is managed.

Terry Angelos, who leads Visa's fintech efforts, said in a statement that “Visa is interested in supporting companies like Anchorage who are working to provide secure infrastructure to the growing ecosystem of digital assets. Anchorage is building the foundation to support an array of new financial services."