The CEO and cofounder of cryptocurrency wallet and exchange service provider Blockchain.com, Peter Smith, has announced that investment management company Baillie Gifford contributed $100 million to its $300 million funding round held in March.
Per the announcement, the 110-year-old asset management firm became the largest single investor in the history of Blockchain.com. Additionally, Blockchain.com is one of the first cryptocurrency companies that Baillie Gifford has invested in.
According to Smith, the investment is “a validation that a balanced and diversified retail/institutional business has incredible growth potential in the coming years.” He added that “we’re honored to include [Baillie Gifford] on our journey to bring the next 1B people into crypto.”
Baillie Gifford has made a name for itself in the technological space, as the firm has a knack for picking emerging leaders. It has invested in companies like Tesla, Google, Amazon and Airbnb over the last 20 years, per the announcement.
Blockchain.com was one of the first wallet providers in the Bitcoin space and it offers a free Bitcoin blockchain explorer tool. But some within the Bitcoin community feel that it could do more to support Bitcoin specifically. Users on Reddit, for instance, have noted accusations that the firm is “subverting segwit adoption” and that it “is widely believed to never accept it in the future.”