Investments always represent a risk, even more so if we refer to cryptocurrencies. The volatility of the market and the lack of guarantees have made large companies think twice before betting on digital assets. However, BBVA decided to invest in Bitcoin without actually using the digital currency.
In 2015, the BBVA group, through its Venture Capital (VC) fund, enters the financing round of a startup well known in the world of cryptocurrencies: Coinbase.
Coinbase is a digital currency exchange platform founded in 2012, which works with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. The company wanted to present itself as a tool where transactions of buying and selling digital currencies could be carried out through bank transfers, all based on the Blockchain technology.
Like any startup, at the beginning Coinbase needed to obtain financing to bring to life the project that its founders had in mind. This is where the Venture Capital or Venture Capital enters.
The VC is a financing that is given to startups so that they can consolidate the company. Normally, the VC are given to those initiatives considered high risk, so, in compensation, the sponsors of the new company will have possession of a percentage of it.
This is when BBVA makes its appearance. In 2015, several companies, including BBVA Venture (now Propel), invested approximately 75 million dollars in Coinbase. Since then, the platform has only grown, starting in that year with 1.9 million users to reach 13.3 million in 2017.
Currently, the exchange is one of the largest and most reliable in the world. Based in the United States, the platform works as a house of exchange in 32 countries and in 190 as a means of transaction and storage of Bitcoin.
By 2017, Coinbase was valued at 1,700 million dollars. More recently, a group of investors revalued the company, concluding that its value is around 6,000 million dollars.
With this in mind, let's think again about BBVA and its commitment to Coinbase in 2015. Although the participation of this financial institution was minimal, the success of the startup has meant that this first investment has left great benefits for BBVA.
Although the exact amount used to finance the platform is not known, it is estimated that its revaluation has been 1,400%. This is between 110 and 170 million dollars in profit, according to El Confidencial.
We consider BBVA the big winner because it decided to take the risk of betting on a company dedicated exclusively to the cryptocurrency sector, but this financial institution had no direct relationship with digital currencies.
Sin embargo, al analizar el mercado actual se puede evidenciar que los bancos, tanto públicos como privados, se están inclinando cada vez más por la adopción de criptomonedas.
Esto no quiere decir que el riesgo ya no exista, sino que estas instituciones decidieron aceptarlo y apostar por este nuevo modelo de negocios, que se presenta como el futuro de las transacciones económicas en el mundo.
Pero, con el mercado de criptomonedas a la baja desde hace varios días, quién tendrá la razón: ¿los que se mantienen cautelosos con sus inversiones? ¿O aquellos que siguen apostando a pesar del riesgo? Lo dejamos a su criterio.
Fuente: El Confidencial