The news that bitcoin exchange Coinbase has acquired startup Kippt is one of the more positive stories to come out of the bitcoin community in recent weeks.
In an amount-undisclosed deal that consisted of stock and cash (but sadly, no bitcoin that we know of), Coinbase will be acquiring a company with which it already has a significant relationship. Members of the Kippt team reportedly have been working on branding for Coinbase, as well as developing a Coinbase app gallery.
Kippt’s reputation was built on its social bookmarking and messaging products. Both services will remain available, though there will be changes (such as the end of the paid Kippt Pro plan). Coinbase hopes to leverage the talent of Kippt to create a bitcoin that is friendlier to merchants and consumers alike.
In a blog post announcing the acquisition, Kippt co-founders Jori Lallo and Karri Saarinen wrote: “For the first time, designers and developers like us can now re-imagine the way financial transactions and products are designed and built.”
Fun fact: Coinbase and Kippt are members of the same 2012 Y Combinator class.
Founded in July 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Coinbase holds more than 1 million consumer wallets and enables bitcoin transactions for 28,000 merchants. The company specializes in removing exchange-rate risk from bitcoin transactions. This further reduces a source of friction for merchants and consumers using the virtual currency.
Coinbase is a recent Finovate alum, having debuted on the Finovate stage during the Spring show in San Jose last month. Video of the company’s demo will be available soon.