Could Bitcoin's frothy venture funding dry up?
Bitcoin: What is it, really? A digital currency? An investment? An Xbox game? For many people it's not clear, but that hasn't stopped venture capitalists from going gaga over it.
Since earlier this year, startups dealing in the technology known as Bitcoin have grabbed millions of dollars from some very prominent Silicon Valley VC firms. The amount totals at least some $50 million, all for a technology that could be gone, or pushed deep underground, if financial regulators decided to ban it.
Half of that $50 million went to Coinbase earlier this month in a major funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Coinbase acts as a Bitcoin bank of sorts, providing a suite of services including an exchange for buying and selling bitcoins, a payment processor, and a so-called wallet service for storing bitcoins.
