BlockCypher raises $3.1M seed round to build out Bitcoin in Asia

US-based startup BlockCypher announced today that it has raised a seed round of more than $3.1 million, which the company plans to use to bolster its efforts to support the bitcoin ecosystem in Asia. The round included investment from a variety of firms including Foundation Capital, New Enterprise Associates, AME Cloud Ventures, Upside Partnership, Streamlined Ventures, Fenox Venture Capital, Granite Ventures, Boost VC, and 500 Startups. There were also several individual investors, including acclaimed rap artist Nas.

BlockCypher allows developers to build, monitor, and secure block chain applications through its cloud platform and web APIs. The service makes it easier for devs across the globe to build bitcoin applications, and the startup is already processing half a million events per day through its platform. The cash infusion from this seed round will be used to help the company expand in Asia, which BlockCypher considers an important market.

“We see the potential of Bitcoin, especially in developing countries, as a way to break cycles of intergenerational poverty,” says BlockCypher co-founder and CEO Catheryne Nicholson. That’s a lofty goal, but BlockCypher already has quite a few satisfied customers in Asia building bitcoin apps for local populations, and with this latest investment, that number is sure to grow.

Full disclosure: Fenox Venture Capital, one of the investors in BlockCypher’s seed round, has also invested in Tech in Asia.