The social media giant has invested in a new $20 million Series A funding round for OpenNode, an L.A.-based startup that processes Bitcoin payments for businesses. Twitter joined London-based Kingsway Capital, which led the round, as well as Boston-based Avon Ventures and billionaire crypto evangelist Tim Draper.
The funding takes OpenNode’s valuation to $220 million, the company said in a statement.
Founded in 2018, OpenNode specializes in verifying transactions off of the Bitcoin blockchain, via a secondary layer called the Lightning Network. The company says Lightning is both speedier and cheaper than on-chain transitions, which includes fees from the network itself and third-party exchanges. OpenNode provides businesses with payment buttons, ecommerce plugins and an API in exchange for a 1% transaction fee.
Twitter’s involvement in the funding round follows its formation of a dedicated crypto division last fall. Soon after, the social network launched a service that verifies NFT profile pictures.
In a statement, Twitter product manager Ester Crawford championed digital currencies, saying they “encourage more people globally to participate in the economy, and with less friction.” A Twitter spokesperson declined to disclose the size of the company’s investment in OpenNode.
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