Binance leads $30M funding round for privacy-centric MobileCoin

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The biggest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, Binance, has ventured into the virtual messaging service world by leading a funding round for the new cryptocurrency, MobileCoin. The Hong Kong based exchange, which has plans to move to Malta in the near future, has sunk no less than $30 million denominated in Ethereum and BTC into the project via its blockchain incubator Binance Labs. MobileCoin’s development team also includes the creator of Signal, Moxie Marlinspike.

The new cryptocurrency will be using the Stella consensus Protocol to operate. This makes privacy a focus of the operation, while also creating a seamless user experience that lends itself particularly well to integrating with mobile messaging apps such as Signal and Whatsapp. Both of these systems use end-to-end encryption technology that was developed by Marlinspike himself.

Binance Labs described MobileCoin as ‘a mobile-first, user-friendly cryptocurrency which plays a critical role in mainstream cryptocurrency adoption.’ Of course, it remains to be seen whether this altcoin will be taken up although it will probably have a promising start when listed on the Binance exchange.

Binance seems to be attempting to emulate Coinbase by investing in other industry projects. The latter has since launched its first venture fund, although it has also stated that it would not be investing in any crypto assets as this could create a conflict of interest as well as regulatory problems.

There are rumours, however, that Marlinspike is not that much involved in the project although he is described as a technical advisor. On Twitter, Dogecoin creator Jackson Palmer noted that Marlinspike is “barely involved with the actual development on this thing.”

https://twitter.com/ummjackson/status/988868418399911936

Currently, MobileCoin does not appear to have an open-source code repository, though the rumors about Marlinspike’s involvement or lack of it, are currently just rumours. Once MobileCoin releases the project’s open source code, the true level of Marlinspike’s involvement in the project’s development should become clearer.