Bitfury secures $80M private placement with Korelya Capital

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Cryptocurrency miner company Bitfury has announced a private placement of $80 million, the latest high growth blockchain company to draw significant support from global institutional investors.

The placement was led by Korelya Capital, an investment firm with the backing of Korea’s Naver Group, alongside investors such as Argenthal Capital Partners and Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Capital. Valery Vavilov, Bitfury’s co-founder and CEO, said the funding marked a strong year for the company, one of Europe’s emerging blockchain unicorns.

“This private placement reflects our achievements, and it recognizes our ability to address adjacent market segments in high-performance computing, including in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI),” Vavilov said in a statement. “The institutionalization of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, partnered with the opportunity of these emerging technologies, is a natural expansion opportunity that Bitfury will build on—in 2019 and beyond.”

Antoine Dresch, of Korelya Capital, said Bitfury has the expertise and leadership to drive more innovation in the blockchain sector. He noted, “Bitfury has grown from a small startup to the largest western blockchain unicorn, equipped with world class leadership and expertise, consistently delivering innovative solutions across the entire blockchain ecosystem.”

The news comes on the heels of reports that the crypto miner manufacturer has been looking at different strategic options to raise funds, such as holding an initial public offering (IPO) as early as 2019, or raising debt financing as well as selling a minority stake in the company.

Since its launch in 2011, Bitfury has been quite active in cryptocurrency and blockchain activities. Bitfury, the largest non-Chinese-owned company, develops Bitcoin blockchain software and provides infrastructure for Bitcoin mining. The company also developed products like a digital ledger for cryptocurrency transactions, chips for mining machines and software for institutions, governments, and companies.

The recent private placement, according to Bitfury Executive Vice Chairman George Kikvadze, was a vote of confidence in the direction of travel for Bitfury, and an endorsement of their growth strategy. He explained, “This private placement will take our corporate governance to the next level, broaden our financial strategic options, and ideally position us for our next phase of growth as the market matures.”

The funding is the latest example of a significant investment in the blockchain space, as more institutional and fund investors turn to opportunities in cryptocurrency and blockchain tech.

Regarded as pioneers in blockchain development, Bitfury works with governments and large corporations to develop and deploy real-world use cases for the technology. The funding will support the company as it continues to grow in European markets, at a time of increasing interest from large organisations worldwide.