Ripple Acquires Hidden Road for $1.25 Billion, Boosting AprilS Crypto Funding
The second week of April witnessed a major crypto acquisition.Ripple, known for its enterprise blockchain solutions on the XRP Ledger, bought Hidden Road for $1.25 billion. This deal, primarily cash-based with some XRP and Ripple stock, pushed the week’s total funding over $1.5 billion, as per Crypto Fundraising data.
Hidden Road’s founder, Marc Asch, will stay on to lead the brokerage under Ripple. CEO Brad Garlinghouse told Fortune that Ripple aims to appeal to large financial institutions.
Wunder Social Secures $50 Million for Social Media Revolution
British startup Wunder Social raised $50 million, led by Rollman Management. Set to launch in 2025, Wunder.Social plans to disrupt the $200 billion social media market with advanced tech and a user-first approach. Former TikTok marketing head Ryan Martin is now Wunder’s Chief Marketing Officer.
Blackbird and Meanwhile Secure Important Investments
Blackbird,a restaurant loyalty platform,secured $50 million in Series B funding. Spark Capital, Coinbase ventures, and a16z crypto were among the investors. Blackbird has now raised $85 million in total.
Meanwhile, a Bitcoin-denominated life insurance firm, raised $40 million in Series A funding.Framework, Farcus Ventures, and Bitcoin pioneer Wences Casares participated. Meanwhile offers BTC-denominated policies to protect users from inflation.
