Is Bitcoin a bubble? this is something which many have been asking for a while now. The answer to this question is not a simple one. While the Bitcoin and digital currency segments are definitely expanding in terms of their underlying technology and innovative products, their use as alternative currency is yet to catch up big time.
The number of startups working on bitcoin and blockchain based technology is huge these days. At the same time, there are number of such companies that are shutting down due to lack of business opportunities, fund crunch, regulatory issues etc.
A Bitcoin reputation and trust startup, Bonafide has become the latest one to bite the dust. The company founded by Karthik Balasubramanian and Brian Moyer has decided to shut down its operations due to lack of interest/demand for such platforms in the current bitcoin market. Bonafide had earlier raised over $850000 in investments.
According to reports on one of the cryptocurrency news sites – Coindesk, an unknown Bitcoin company had earlier expressed interest to acquire Bonafide. However, it fell through as the particulars of the deal was found to be beneficial only to the founders of the company and not the investors. Now, Bonafide is in the process of liquidating its assets as part of the winding up process.
Bonafide was funded by Blockchain Capital and Quest Venture Partners along with other investors. The company’s business revolved around providing user reputation data to bitcoin businesses through their APIs. These reputation data was utilized by businesses like bitcoin exchanges, wallet providers etc.
The founders however are not let down by the recent turn of events. They are more enthusiastic than ever and one of them even hinted the possibility of starting another company sometime later in the life. It is still not clear whether their next venture will be in the bitcoin and blockchain sphere or not.
Source: Coindesk