NYSE, USAA and BBVA Make $75M Coinbase Investment

Bitcoin startup Coinbase just got a lot of extra change in its pocket from a record-breaking investment round of $75 million — which is coming from some seemingly unexpected backers.

The financial institutions leading this investment round include the New York Stock Exchange, USAA and BBVA, who have tagged along with former Citigroup chief Vikram Pandit and former Thomson Reuters CEO Tom Glocer to contribute to the largest investment to date in a bitcoin company, according to FinExtra. From the NYSE’s perspective, it’s hoping its investment will lead to more transparency in bitcoin processing.

“At its core, Bitcoin is a decentralized protocol that enables exchange of value among parties around the world, giving it the potential to alter the financial services landscape,” said BBVA Ventures Executive Director Jay Reinemann. “By serving consumers, merchants and developers alike, Coinbase touches the most important aspects of that emerging ecosystem, giving it one of the best viewports into new developments and applications for the technology.”

It appears as the digital currency’s volatility and recent bitcoin price slump isn’t enough to scare off the major financial institutions as their leaders are being clear why they have interest in investing in Coinbase. The funding is said to be used to expand Coinbase’s presence in international markets and help pay for the money transmission license fees in the U.S.

“With this investment, we are tapping into a new asset class by teaming up with a leading platform that is bringing transparency, security and confidence to an important growth market,” Nyse President Tom Farley said. “We look forward to supporting Coinbase’s growth utilizing our global distribution capabilities and market expertise.”

This most recent investment round was led by DFJ Growth, with participation from existing investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures and Ribbit Capital, FineExtra reported. The total raised by Coinbase has now hit $106 million. Coinbase, a San Francisco-based company reports that there are 2.1 million bitcoin wallets from a customer base of 1.9 million since the company launched in 2012.