OpenBazaar Raises $5 Million from Bitmain, OMERS Ventures

OB1, the development company behind decentralized online marketplace OpenBazaar, has raised $5 million in a Series A funding round.

AccessTimeIconMar 13, 2018 at 3:10 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 13, 2021 at 7:41 a.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

OB1, the development company behind decentralized online marketplace OpenBazaar, has raised $5 million in a Series A funding round

According to a press release, investors in the round include Chinese bitcoin mining giant Bitmain and Canadian VC firm OMERS Ventures.

While some blockchain companies see initial coin offerings as an alternative to traditional fundraising, players like OB1 clearly welcome both. Alongside the new VC funding, the startup still plans to launch its own token later this year, as announced at the Token Summit in San Francisco last December.

Also announced today, the platform will launch a verified moderators program later this week.

OB1 said in the release:

“Our plans for this year include releasing web and mobile versions of the application, as well as giving users new ways to trade with each other, such as making requests and buying and selling cryptocurrencies.”

The team added support for bitcoin cash and zcash in February. The goal for its own upcoming token is to address pain points across the platform, and ultimately the industry.

"You have this massive amount of content that people are just dumping onto the decentralized web or into OB,” the firm's CEO, Brian Hoffman, told International Business Times. “And there's no Google there to clean it up and serve it up nicely and organize it.”

"I think our first step is to look at how a token could allow merchants and advertisers to create compelling content and help build businesses," he said.

Ambitious though these plans may be, the startup’s investors include some of the biggest names in the cryptocurrency industry.

Bitmain is the newest high-profile addition to a list that already boasted Andreessen Horowitz and angel investor William Mougayar.

Business deal image via Shutterstock

Correction: This article has been amended to reflect that OpenBazaar has not yet integrated litecoin. 

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.