Indian Bitcoin firm Unocoin raises $1.5m to expand
Indian bitcoin company Unocoin has raised $1.5 million in funding from a mix of Indian and US investors. This is the largest round of funding for a bitcoin company based in India, according to the three-year-old start-up. Unocoin which buys, sells and stores bitcoins for Indian customers, has over 100,000 users and more than 30 staff. The company's latest investment round comes two years after it raised $250,000 in seed funding. It intends to use the latest funding for product development, recruitment and geographical expansion.
India seems to have found its new bitcoin superstar.

On Sept 28, Bengaluru-based Unocoin said that it has raised $1.5 million in funding from a mix of Indian and US investors. The three-year-old startups says this is the largest round of funding for an Indian bitcoin company. Unocoin, which sells, buys and stores bitcoins for Indian customers, has over 100,000 users and more than 30 employees.

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The money has come from organisations such as Blume Ventures, Mumbai Angels, ah! Ventures, along with international investors including Digital Currency Group, Boost VC, Bank, to the Future and FundersClub, a Reuters report said.

“These are exciting times…India is the perfect home for Bitcoin and blockchain technology,” Satvik Vishwanath, the CEO of Unocoin, told the Economic Times newspaper. “Over the coming months and years, we’ll continue to build practical, useful features and tools on top of Bitcoin.”

Unocoin’s latest round of investment comes two years after it raised $250,000 in seed funding from the US-based Bitcoin Opportunity Corp. The company now plans to use the funds for product development, team expansion and geographical expansion.

Bitcoin is a digital currency that is created and stored electronically. It also uses open-source and peer-to-peer technology to operate without any interference from a central authority. The virtual currency is becoming increasingly popular in India now. Some of the other Indian Bitcoin companies include Coinsecure, Zebpay and BTCXIndia.