Chain Raises $30 Million with Help from Financial Industry Leaders

Chain, Inc., a leading provider of blockchain technology solutions specifically to financial institutions, announced yesterday that it has succeeded in acquiring $30 million in equity funding from an array of companies within the realm of the financial and payments industry.

These leaders include Visa, Nasdaq, Citi Ventures, Capital One, Fiserv, and Orange. The new partners will also be aiding Chain in forming a Blockchain Working Group in order to explore the use of technology in various markets, and also to collaboratively approach interoperability.

It has also been announced that former American Express CEO and RRE Ventures founder, Jim Robinson III, have been selected for the company’s board of directors.

“A blockchain is more than a financial technology – it’s a strategy,” commented Adam Ludwin, Chain’s CEO. “Applied intelligently, blockchain networks fundamentally improve how assets move between parties, and we are thrilled to be partnering with the organizations we believe are best positioned to capitalize on the inevitable changes in market structure that are on the horizon.”

“Visa’s investment in Chain underscores our long-standing commitment to explore technology, like the blockchain, that could have the potential to advance secure and convenient digital payments for our clients and their customers,” said Jim McCarthy, Executive Vice President of innovation and strategic partnerships at Visa.

Essentially, a blockchain acts as a new model for the purpose of transferring financial assets that substitute third party participants with cryptographically secured networks.

A blockchain allows asset holders in a certain market to make transactions on a peer-to-peer level at a relatively low cost.

“Blockchain technology represents a fundamental, generational shift for financial services, and Chain’s platform is enabling and accelerating this transformation,” commented Ramneek Gupta, Managing Director and Co-head of Global Venture Investing at Citi Ventures. “We hope to leverage Chain’s platform to rapidly test and develop applications as part of Citi’s multi-faceted blockchain strategy which has the potential to greatly enhance our customers’ experience well beyond just currencies and payments.”