Coinbase’s user base and growth have both been remarkable in the last couple of months, especially when Bitcoin was hitting $20,000 in December 2017. The crypto platform has also added new “offerings” in its portfolio, including Bitcoin Cash and 0x.
Now, the San-Francisco-based unicorn has secured a Series E funding round worth $300 million. Having secured its latest investment, Coinbase is now valued at around $8 billion.
The fresh funds will help Coinbase expand further and more specifically, help the exchange build out the cryptocurrency space with the so-called Web 3 concept, or the next phase of internet. The concept of Web 3 is all about decentralization and putting the consumer in charge of innovation, control and technological empowerment.
According to the blog post by Coinbase, the investor is “Tiger Global Management, with participation from Y Combinator Continuity, Wellington Management, Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain and others.”
The new funding will be used by the exchange in several different directions, including global expansion, more utility applications for digital coins, expanding the current portfolio of coins and attracting institutional investors to the cryptocurrency space.
Just an year ago, in 2017, Coinbase was valued at around $1.6 billion, closing in its Series D funding round with a $100 million investment from Institutional Venture Partners. The sheer growth of customer base and the boom of digital coins have all helped the exchange increase valuation by more than four times.
Coinbase are currently pushing the boundaries of the cryptocurrency world. However, they are also facing steep competition from “smaller” players such as Robinhood, whose business model is different than Coinbase, yet they are already considered as direct competitors. In the fast moving space of cryptocurrencies, it is no wonder that valuations are skyrocketing.