South Korean Bitcoin startup raises $400K from Silicon Valley investors

By VCPOST Staff Reporter

Jan 20, 2014 08:00 PM EST

Korbit, a Bitcoin startup from South Korea, has secured $400,000 (around 420 Bitcoins today) from several investors from Silicon Valley. This is the first time that a South Korean startup has been able to raise early stage financing from high profile investors, according to VentureBeat.

The investors in the said round includ Bitcoin supporters Tim Draper of DFJ, Naval Ravikant of AngelList, David Lee of SV Angel, and Barry Silbert of Bitcoin Opportunity Fund, the report detailed.

The Bitcoin market is starting to gain momentum in South Korea. The support of these Silicon Valley investors show that South Korean firms could be the center of the global expansion of Bitcoin, the report noted.

Korbit chief Tony Lyu said: "Korbit has already reached profitability in less than a year of operations. In order to grow our lead and global competitiveness, however, we brought in strategic investors who can add critical value in addition to their investment dollars. We'll be leveraging their expertise in order to realize Bitcoin's full potential in the years ahead."

Established in July 2013, Korbit is the first bitcoin startup in South Korea. The firm operates the biggest bitcoin exchange in the country. Korbit currently has more than 20,000 registered users, VentureBeat reported.

© 2024 VCPOST, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics