Payment giant PayPal joins a growing list of mainstream entities delving into blockchain in one form or the other. The payment company has invested in Cambridge Blockchain.
According to an April 1 press release, PayPal has jumped into Cambridge Blockchain’s “Series A funding round.” The statement mentioned, “With this investment, the two companies will explore potential collaborations to leverage blockchain technology.”
Cambridge Blockchain works in the digital identity space, giving people authority over their information, “while delivering the benefits of trusted, distributed identity to consumers and organizations,” as the official website explains.
With all the stories of breached and leaked personal information, multiple companies are currently looking into blockchain as a method of securing personal data, while still being able to use it.
Cambridge Blockchain is exploring this area of blockchain application, as its CEO Matthew Commons explained in the press release, “Our service helps streamline digital identity compliance while giving customers control over their identity data.”
Forbes’ coverage on the subject revealed the popular payment solution PayPal could see advancement from the investment. A spokesperson from the internet payments company said to Forbes, “We made an investment in Cambridge Blockchain because it is applying blockchain for digital identity in a way that we believe could benefit financial services companies including PayPal.”
A report from CoinDesk on the subject noted this is the first time PayPal has put money into a blockchain company. Commons noted that the American payments company and Cambridge actually have been interacting over the last 12 months roughly, in various capacities, as reported by CoinDesk.
Self-sovereign identity
Blockchain technology could hold the keys to revolutionizing people’s data security and information verification. The ability to validate information without actually disclosing it, would provide groundbreaking convenience and security.
Other crypto projects working in the blockchain identity space include Civic and SelfKey.