Xapo, a California based Bitcoin security company, has been out raising money towards creating the most secure Bitcoin storage system in the world. The fundraising was led by Benchmark, Fortress Investment Group and Ribbit Capital and with the help of those three it was made possible to get the first $20 million.
Xapo was founded by Wences Casares, who is the former CEO and founder of Lemon, which was a digital wallet. Xapo takes care of Bitcoins while keeping them in cold storage, ensuring that nobody can "break in" and steal the coins.
Casares if from Argentina and uses his background to explain why security is such an important thing for him. His parents lived in Argentina while there were high inflation and deflation swings, which caused them to lose money on a regular basis. Now he wants to protect his clients again that, telling Coindesk.com:
“I recognize that those are extremes but, when you grow up in that environment you become much more aware of problems with currency. So, when I saw bitcoin it was like a dream.”
The vaults have never been online, making it impossible for cybercriminals to hack and steal any coins or even find the server they are stored on. All Bitcoins stored in the vaults are also completely insured, so should the worst happen anyway, then you are still home free.
Xapo is currently holding and maintaining Bitcoins for the richer clientele such as hedge funds and wealth funds, but also for larger commercial customers. The price is extremely cheap, with Xapo only charging 12 basis point annually for their services.
Matt Cohler, Partner of Benchmark told Coindesk.com:
“You’ll want to understand the company’s credibility, backing and solvency. In this case, you have a company led by one of the most important people in the bitcoin ecosystem, it’s insured and has investors from both Silicon Valley and Wall Street.”.
You can read more about Xapo here.
