Colu, an Israel-based blockchain startup, has raised $14.5 million from IDB Development Corporation as a Series B funding into the company and as part of its Colu Local Network (CLN) token pre-sale round, CoinJournal reported.
The latest funding round follows the startup’s Series A round in 2016 and seed round in 2015, bringing the total funding till date to over $26 million.
“IDB believes that Colu will help to support the growth of blockchain technology as a real life payment method. We are thrilled to be rolling out plans for increased innovation in our diverse industries,” Sholem Lapidot, CEO, IDB Development Corporation said. “This investment, among others, is part of our genuine vision to integrate between the traditional and the new economy, combining customer centric approach with technological progress.”
Amos Meiri, Colu’s co-founder and CEO, said the investment signifies “a vote of confidence in cryptocurrencies and the role they could play in the retail market.”
“This strategic partnership with a group that has an avid commitment to the community, like we do, represents a big step towards expansion in Israel,” Meiri said. “We are excited to collaborate with the IDB’s team and look forward to making local economies flourish.”
Founded in 2014, Colu creates local currencies for smart economies using blockchain technology. Earlier this year, the startup launched its digital wallet app and is now operational in four cities in the UK and Israel.
The pre-sale of CLN token was launched a month ago and has seen contributions from IDB, Spark Capital, Aleph, eToro, and Tom Glocer. The CLN is a payment system that aims to utilize the power of cryptocurrencies to create a better, more transparent payment system and strengthen the sense of mutual responsibility in the community.
“The CLN token is the first currency attached to real life consumption. The token will be issued on the Ethereum network as an ERC-20 token and will provide access to the CLN network and will enable communities to bootstrap. It will also represent an index value of the community currencies issued on the network and provide instant liquidity to new currencies,” the website reads.
The public sale will be launched on January 18, 2018 and will run until January 25, 2018 and aims to raise $25 million.
