16 June 2014 / NY Times – The Bitcoin security platform BitGo announced on Monday that it had raised $12 million, the latest example of how investors see opportunity in a growing industry aimed at making virtual currency easier and safer to use.
BitGo, which sells a security platform to protect Bitcoin against theft and loss, said it had raised the money from investors including the Silicon Valley investment capital firm Redpoint Ventures; Bitcoin Opportunity Corporation, a Bitcoin investment vehicle run by the entrepreneur Barry Silbert; and Ashton Kutcher’s A-Grade Investments.
Bitcoin, the computer-driven online currency, has no central regulator and is not secured by a national bank, meaning that investors have little recourse if their Bitcoin is lost or stolen. This lack of security has spurred the growth of a cottage industry aimed at providing protection to Bitcoin, thereby bringing it further into the mainstream.
In some ways, those efforts have succeeded, as more and more merchants have begun accepting Bitcoin as payment. But online money still faces regulatory and technological hurdles. It is still not widely used, and law enforcement agencies are wary of its potential for abuse….. Read more
