Fintech Bitcoin Blockchain startup Chain, Inc. has raised $30 million Series B in a round that included financial heavyweights Visa, Nasdaq, Citi Ventures and Capital One, along with Fiserv, Orange, RRE Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Thrive Capital, SV Angel and individual investors including former Bank of America Chief Executive Officer David Coulter, X Prize Foundation Chief Executive Officer Peter Diamandis and MongoDB Co-founder Kevin Ryan.

Although not officially disclosed, Forbes puts the valuation on the round at $150 million.

Founded in 2014, Chain utilizes the Blockchain, the underlying digital ledger that powers Bitcoin, to assist banks and other institutions in developing ways to trade and transfer financial assets.

The company claims that their solutions enable institutions to design, deploy and operate Blockchain networks that can power any type of asset in any market.

Being based on the Bitcoin Blockchain, Chain says that its platform delivers interoperability across systems and networks while also offering APIs and SDKs that enable partners to test ideas faster in a private environment.

Chain secure network nodes can be run anywhere to enable the issuance, storage & transfer of financial assets.

“We believe in the power of blockchain technology to transform how financial assets are transferred, but it has to be done with the right partners to ensure it gets off the ground,” Chain Chief Executive Officer Adam Ludwin told Nasdaq.com in an interview.

Viva la fintech revolución

Chain is working with Nasdaq on using the technology to facilitate the trading of stakes in unlisted companies on its private market, something that comes with hurdles as it requires the cooperation with the various institutions who use the Nasdaq to trade.

The advantage of using the Blockchain in facilitating trading comes down to two very related things: time and money.

Traditionally trades between two parties, say on the Nasdaq, often require multiple intermediaries, with brokers requiring to leave large margin accounts at centralized depositories; conversely securities traded on a Blockchain-based network allows trades to be settled directly between the buyer and seller on the exchange, negating the need for intermediaries while also speeding transactions and reducing costs.

Including the new round, Chain has raised $43.7 million to-date. Previous investors who did not participate in the new round include 500 Startups and Betaworks.

The company interestingly said it would use the new round to pad itself longer term should migration of legacy systems to the Blockchain takes longer than expected.

Image credit: screenshot/ Chain.