Block.one, the creator of the EOSIO (EOS) blockchain protocol, announced on Monday that venture capitalist and entrepreneur Peter Thiel has invested in the company, along with other notable investors, Bitmain, Louis Bacon, and Alan Howard. According to Block.one, the investment round follows an earlier round led by Christian Angermayer, Lansdowne Investment Company Ltd, and Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz. While sharing details about the investment round, Block.one CEO, Brendan Blumer, stated:
“As Block.one prepares to announce its future plans, we’re excited to welcome key strategic investors aligned with our values of creating a more secure and connected world.”
Jihan Wu, Co-founder of Bitmain, also noted:
“The EOSIO protocol is a great example of blockchain innovation. Its performance and scalability can meet the needs of demanding consumer applications and will pave the way for mainstream blockchain adoption.”
Block.one then added the latest investment round follows the recent announcement that former CFO of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Rob Jesudason, has been appointed company Group President and former Jefferies Asia CEO, Mike Alexander, will lead Block.one’s EOS VC arm. Block.one recently announced its partnership with SVK Crypto, a London-based investor in blockchain tech, have partnered on a $50 million fund to fuel the growth and development of the EOSIO blockchain ecosystem.
As previously reported, Cayman-based EOS raised a whopping $4 billion in an initial coin offering (ICO) that started in 2017 – the largest ever. The funds poured in even before the platform was built out. Block.one launched the platform last month. EOS is much like an Ethereum alternative, with the EOS benefits from Ethereum’s advantage of being first so now EOS can improve upon intrinsic shortcomings of Ethereum such as scalability and speed.