By For the first time in history payment gateway veteran Paypal has invested in a blockchain company. Digital ID is the name of the startup that Paypal has funded during its Series A funding round.
Paypal has been surprisingly quiet when it comes to the blockchain and crypto arenas. Despite Peter Thiel, who is the co-founder of Paypal has been active and open in his time and money towards the tech, Paypal itself has not shown any public interest. Until now.
The lucky recipients of the first Paypal foray into blockchain investing is Cambridge Blockchain specifically its startup Digital ID. As we know, blockchain technology has many innovative uses and one use is the greater security the tech gives users over their digital identity, which is something that pretty much aligns with Paypal’s mission from their early days of existence.
Notably, this is not the first time that Paypal has ventured into the realm of decentralized identities. Paypal has in fact, joined the likes of Microsoft, IBM, and Mastercard in a nonprofit called the Decentralized Identity Foundation. Thus, Paypal investing in Digital ID is its next step in its foray into blockchain.
According to Matthew Commons, the CEO of Cambridge Blockchain, Paypal has had involvement with his company for around one year already. For example, Cambridge Blockchain participated in an accelerator program which was sponsored by Paypal.
In addition to this, Cambridge has been at work with LuxTrust another digital identity company which is based in Luxembourg, which also happens to be where Paypal has moved its European HQ to. Coincidence or not? Well, the fact that both companies are based in Luxembourg will most certainly “help get things moving,” according to Commons.
However, only when Cambridge Blockchain started their work with Paypal’s corporate venture group in San Jose, California was the funding a sure thing.
Currently, Cambridge Blockchain only has 15 employees but the company is expected to expand rapidly given that it has managed to raise an outstanding $10 million during the Serie A funding round thus far.
Could Paypal become one of the first payment companies to utilize decentralized digital identity technology? Only time will tell, but it most certainly will be a great vehicle for blockchain adoption.
Comments