Bitcoin Daily: Crypto ATM Network Coinme Raises $5.5M As Transaction Volume Jumps; App Abra Nets $5M From Stellar

Seattle-based digital currency ATM company Coinme has brought in a $5.5 million investment as it experiences rising interest in its network, GeekWire reported.

The company was started in 2014 and has 28 staffers and over 3,500 locations throughout 27 states. Neil Bergquist, the company’s CEO, noted per the report that the firm’s transaction volumes have risen by over 40 percent as of late February.

Coinme also joined forces with Coinstar in January of last year and has stayed accessible to clients since Coinstar machines are in essential businesses like pharmacies and supermarkets.

In other news, digital currency financial services app Abra has notched a $5 million investment from the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) that comes before its integration with the Stellar blockchain, CoinDesk reported.

Bill Barhydt, CEO of Abra, said his team will harness Stellar’s “ability to use traditional banking infrastructure” as it creates additional banking technologies.

Abra has brought on additional digital currency services and coins, as well as attracted further venture funding after its 2014 rollout as a bitcoin remittances app. The company now provides for cash-to-crypto transactions in the Philippines, fractional exchange traded fund (ETF) investments, and support for financial institutions in the thousands in the United States as part of its offerings.

Meanwhile, digital securities platform Securitize is launching a common identification technology for its clients with the aim of making a standard in the industry, according to a CoinDesk report.

Securitize CEO and Co-Founder Carlos Domingo told the outlet, “Within the ecosystem of the companies we work with for participating in a securities offering, there are issuers, there are transfer agents like us, there are custodians and ideally we can all agree on a common ID that is shared across all of these institutions that is compliant.”

People who go through the firm’s know-your-customer (KYC) procedure can reportedly harness the same data when seeking to onboard with other firms that use the platform.