Coinbase competitor Blockchain.com raises $300 million in crypto funding frenzy

Coinbase competitor Blockchain.com raises $300 million in crypto funding frenzy

Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) – Argentina is unable to repay its $45 billion debt with the International Monetary Fund under current negotiating conditions, influential Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said Wednesday, diminishing the possibility of an agreement with the country’s largest creditor.“We can’t pay because we don’t have the money to pay,” Fernandez de Kirchner said at an event in Buenos Aires, adding that the terms and conditions are “unacceptable.”Fernandez de Kirchner’s comments come after discussions between Economy Minister Martin Guzman and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in Washington on Tuesday that what was described by both sides as a “very good meeting.”The hardline stance from Fernandez de Kirchner, who battled with creditors during her eight years in office from 2007 to 2015, may help bury the already diminished prospects for a deal to get done before key midterm elections in October. President Alberto Fernandez leads a broad Peronist coalition, and Fernandez de Kirchner comes from a more radical but important left-wing group.“Key players in the government’s coalition would prefer to be perpetually at war with the Fund,” Benjamin Gedan, director of the Argentina Project at the Wilson Center, a Washington-based think tank. “That attitude is not productive and complicates the economy minister’s efforts to negotiate a new program.”Spokesmen for Argentine President Fernandez and the Economy Ministry didn’t respond to requests for comment.Also on Wednesday, Argentina’s Foreign Ministry announced that the nation is formally leaving the so-called Lima Group of western hemisphere nations who seek a peaceful transition of power from Nicolas Maduro’s government in Venezuela. Moves to isolate Maduro’s government “haven’t led to anything,” and the inclusion of his Venezuelan opposition in the bloc has led to positions that Argentina can’t join, the ministry said in a statement.Read More: IMF Sees Upside in Delaying Argentina Deal After OctoberArgentine dollar bonds maturing in 2030 fell 0.9 cents on the dollar to 34.15 cents on Wednesday. The bonds edged lower after Fernandez de Kirchner’s comments. Argentina restructured its debt with bondholders last year and is still trying to reschedule payments with the Washington-based lender.The cost to protect against losses on Argentina’s debt jumped to the highest level since the country emerged from default last year. Credit-default swaps linked to the nation rose 1 percentage point to an upfront cost of 39 percentage points, according to ICE Data Services. That means it would cost $3.9 million upfront to insure $10 million of Argentina bonds.An IMF spokesperson declined to comment on Fernandez de Kirchner’s remarks.In the speech, Fernandez de Kirchner was flanked by Axel Kicillof, the governor of Buenos Aires Province and her son Maximo, who is a lawmaker. She called on the opposition to help seek better terms from the fund since they are responsible for taking on the debt under former President Mauricio Macri.“We are not saying to not pay the debt,” Fernandez de Kirchner said. “Our political group was the only one that paid the debts of all the other governments. We should make an effort, the ruling party and the opposition, to give us a longer term and a different interest rate on a debt that others have contracted.”Guzman’s visit to Washington this week came after talks yielded little visible progress since they began last September, and after he met with investors in New York last Friday.While IMF negotiators prefer to hash out a deal with Argentina as soon as possible to put the country back on a path to growth, the Fund knows it can’t force the nation’s hand, people familiar with the talks said earlier this month.Officials in Buenos Aires already had been taming expectations on an agreement, with President Fernandez recently saying he doesn’t want to rush talks. He has yet to send a detailed economic plan to the IMF or even top leaders within his coalition – a key step to move the negotiation forward.Political CalculusFernandez already faced a narrowing political path as the Oct. 24 vote approaches. Announcing an agreement with the Fund, which is likely to include fiscal austerity pledges, could hurt the ruling coalition’s standing in a country where the IMF is usually blamed for its recurrent economic crisis.Argentina faces an economic minefield. The country is just emerging from three years of recession, inflation is projected to hit nearly 50% this year and unemployment is in the double digits. The government’s $65 billion debt restructuring with private creditors last year didn’t boost its credibility, and the bonds are now in junk territory again. The country has no access to foreign credit, forcing it to print money.Now seeking its 22nd IMF program since 1956, Argentina’s fraught history with the lender includes its 2001 financial crisis, when painful budget cuts urged by the Fund failed to avert an economic collapse and debt default. The record agreement in 2018, which failed to lift the economy, also translated into more austerity that led Argentines to vote out a pro-business government and elect Fernandez.“It’s not totally unexpected, this is an electoral year and she is delivering the message to their voting base, and we should expect more of the same from her,” said BBVA strategist William Snead in an interview from New York.(Updates with Lima group departure in seventh paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

Crypto wallet and exchange company Blockchain.com raises $300 million at $5.2 billion valuation

As Coinbase is about to go public in the U.S., another cryptocurrency company is having a blockbuster first quarter of 2021. Blockchain.com, the company behind a popular cryptocurrency wallet, an exchange, a block explorer and more has raised a $300 million Series C round.

If you’ve been paying attention, you may remember that I wrote about Blockchain.com last month. At the time, the company announced a $120 million funding round. In other words, the company is raising once again just a few weeks after its previous funding round.

This time DST Global, Lightspeed Venture Partners and VY Capital are leading the round. Existing investors also participated. Following today’s funding round, the company has reached a post-money valuation of $5.2 billion.

Originally named Blockchain.info, the company first launched a blockchain explorer. If you’re not familiar with the blockchain industry, an explorer lets you enter the hash of any transaction that occurs on a blockchain to get more information — you can retrieve the transaction amount, the number of confirmations, the wallet addresses of the sender and the receiver, etc.

But Blockchain.com is better known for its open-source wallet. The company offers a noncustodial wallet, which means that you’re in control of your private keys. Blockchain.com can’t directly access your funds.

Thirty-one million users have verified their identities on Blockchain.com. The number of active users have tripled over the past 12 months.

Blockchain.com has diversified its activities over time. It has launched an exchange so that you can buy and sell cryptocurrencies from Blockchain.com directly. The startup also offers services to institutional investors. Blockchain.com can help you when it comes to buying and selling cryptocurrencies, custody, large over-the-counter transactions, etc.

When it comes to revenue, “Blockchain.com is highly profitable across each of our business lines,” co-founder and CEO Peter Smith wrote. The new influx of funding is all about working with late-stage investors and growing rapidly. You can expect some Blockchain.com acquisitions down the road for instance.

Crypto firm Blockchain.com raises $300 million, valued at $5.2 billion

The exchange rates and logos of Bitcoin (BTH), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Monero (XMR) are seen on the display of a cryptocurrency ATM of blockchain payment service provider Bity at the House of Satochi bitcoin and blockchain shop in Zurich, Switzerland March 4, 2021. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

LONDON (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency firm Blockchain.com said on Wednesday it had raised $300 million in its latest funding round at a valuation of $5.2 billion.

The round was led by DST Global, Lightspeed Venture Partners and VY Capital, the London-based company said

Blockchain.com offers digital wallets for storage of cryptocurrencies as well as retail trading and other services for larger investors.

Bitcoin soared to a record just shy of $62,000 this month as mainstream firms and investors increasingly embrace cryptocurrencies, leading to ballooning valuations of related companies.

Blockchain.com said last month it raised about $120 million, with investments from Alphabet Inc’s venture capital unit.