Coinbase has made headlines this week, buying one of the most well-funded startups in the cryptocurrency space, Earn.com which is being purchased by the wallet and exchange giant for over $120 million making Balaji Srinivasan the companies first CTO while the transition takes place.
For a long time, Coinbase has sought to expand its involvement within the cryptocurrency and blockchain world. Having recently announced the creation of a venture capital fund for startup companies looking to develop their ideas.
The deal will see Coinbase integrate a vast number of highly skilled staff into its existing team. Coinbase has every intention to continue the projects that Earn have started. Coinbase and Earn have stated:
“Earn has built a paid email product that is arguably one of the earliest practical blockchain applications to achieve meaningful traction. We will keep Earn’s business running because it’s showing a lot of promise and potential.”
Coinbase will acquire Earn.com for $120 million, consisting of a mixture of cash, company stock and, interestingly, cryptocurrency assets.
Earn.com began its life under the name, 21 inc, and started off as a way for users to create, buy and sell machine-payable apps. It also sold the 21 bitcoin computer, a low powered piece of hardware that allowed users to mine small amounts of bitcoin and develop simple bitcoin applications.
In February 2017, 21 took its first steps towards being an e-mail platform, with over $116m in funding accrued since 2015 they went on to make the platform to the public in May.
21 went on to change its name to Earn.com in late 2017, transitioning to become a paid e-mail and social media platform. Allowing its users to earn and spend bitcoin for replying to emails and completing tasks.
Coinbase’s interest in acquiring Earn.com doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Both companies have entered formal acquisition talks as recently as late March. The intention on Coinbase’s side is to fully integrate Earn’s emailing system into its broader product. And according to their blog, are set to increase the level of funding behind it:
“We’re going to be doubling down on the Earn business within Coinbase, as they have built a paid email product that is arguably one of the earliest practical blockchain applications to achieve meaningful traction.”