Beijing-based Bitmain Technologies, one of the bitcoin largest mining pools, owner of the Antminer series of bitcoin miners, Hashnest, Antpool and BTC.com, has acquired Amsterdam-based Blocktrail B.V., provider of a multi-platform bitcoin Wallet, API, and Block Explorer.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Bitmain has offices in Hong Kong, San Francisco, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Tel Aviv.
Blocktrail was founded in 2014 with €500, 000 ($669, 310) funding from BlockCorp, which was set up by Lev Leviev, co-founder of VKontakte (Russian Facebook rival), and Blocktrail CEO Boaz Bechar. Both are from Israel.
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Blocktrail’s products include a multi-platform bitcoin wallet, API, and block explorer. Blocktrail’s platform provides consumers and developers with tools to interface with the blockchain, through its secure bitcoin wallet, its powerful developers’ platform, and its popular online block explorer which provides users with online information about cryptocurrency transactions.
Blocktrail’s wallet and API both utilize multi-signature and HD technology, to offer users the highest level of safety and security. Being a decentralized wallet not only makes Blocktrail’s wallet in accordance with the spirit of Bitcoin, but also makes it safer for end-users, which are able to maintain full control over their private keys, rather than trusting in a traditional centralized wallet service to secure it. Blocktrail wallet users are always in full control over their Bitcoins, and can’t be locked out by a centralized service provider or authority.
Bitmain aims to not only merge Blocktrail’s platform into BTC.com, which is China’s leading bitcoin block explorer service, but also utilize Blocktrail’s talent and knowledge, which have joined Bitmain as part of the acquisition.
“Bitmain is the world’s leading company in the bitcoin space. Joining forces with Bitmain will not only benefit both our companies, but also all our present and future customers”, says Blocktrail’s CEO Boaz Bechar.
Jihan Wu, cofounder of Bitmain noted, ”Blocktrail’s products, services and team are highly valuable to us. We hope to utilize this acquisition to continue to offer better services and products to BTC.com’s customers worldwide”.
Blocktrail’s platform and services will continue to operate with both wallet and API users unaffected by these changes.
Bitmain Technologies Ltd. is a fast-growing manufacturer of high performance computing chips. By developing cutting-edge ASIC chips, Bitmain leads the global industry in bitcoin mining hardware and, with a focus on an ASIC chip for Artificial Intelligence applications, is positioning itself to be a world leader in the ASIC space.
