Major Bitcoin Wallet Platform Breadwallet Secures $7 Million in Funding as Adoption Grows
Breadwallet, the open-source bitcoin wallet platform used by millions of active users, has recently secured a $7 million funding round to address the rapidly increasing demand towards bitcoin and rising mainstream adoption of the digital currency.
Previously, upon securing its first investment from venture capital and angel investors, Breadwallet focused on the development and deployment of its decentralized and non-custodial iOS bitcoin wallet. Within three years of operating, Breadwallet has expanded across 150 countries, providing necessary infrastructure for bitcoin users and investors.
With the latest multi-million dollar investment, the Breadwallet team announced the establishment of its headquarters in Switzerland, due to its practical regulatory frameworks towards digital currency businesses and the country’s flourishing bitcoin industry.
Breadwallet CEO Adam Traidman stated:
“Switzerland has emerged as a hotbed of digital currency startup activity, and we were attracted by its leadership in conservative financial legislation. Its strong reputation for financial privacy for consumers is the ideal fit for our charter to empower individuals with the benefits of bitcoin.”
Earlier this week, Bitcoin Suisse CEO Niklas Nikolajsen revealed that Falcon Private Bank has become the first financial institution in Europe to fully integrate bitcoin and offer trading services to its clients. Bank account holders at Falcon can easily trade bitcoin directly from their bank account, through Bitcoin Suisse.
However, as experts in the cryptocurrency sector including Shapeshift founder and CEO Erik Voorhees explained during an interview, non-custodial wallets remain the safest method of storing and securing bitcoin. Voorhees noted that it is still difficult for beginner and casual users to operate their own bitcoin wallets. But, in terms of security, privacy and flexibility, Voorhees emphasized that digital wallets such as Breadwallet and KeepKey are significantly more secure than centralized systems.
“Bitcoin and bitcoin wallets give people sovereignty over their money. And that comes with a certain degree of responsibility. There’s a little bit of a learning curve. If you want to be responsible and control something you need to learn how to use it, just like when you want to learn how to use a car,” said Voorhees.
Hence, despite the presence of Xapo, Bitcoin Suisse and the integration of bitcoin by leading financial institutions, there still exists a large market for Breadwallet and its team in Switzerland and throughout Europe. Consumers may need centralized platforms like exchanges to carry out financial and trading activities. Still, users are in need of decentralized and non-custodial wallet platforms like Breadwallet to secure their funds.
“We are investing in breadwallet due to its unique business model and forward thinking strategy. We believe that digital currency will become increasingly influential as the industry continues its rapid expansion, and breadwallet is well-positioned to be a dominant leader in the space,” said Shinji Kimura of DAS Capital.