CoinJar, a consumer Bitcoin exchange and digital wallet provider, has secured a round of equity investment from several prominent Australian technology investors.

Leading the investment is Niki Scevak of Blackbird Ventures. Other investors include entrepreneur Torsten Hoffman; RetailMeNot founders, Guy King and Bevan Clark; game developer Rob Murray; and serial technology investor Chris Hitchen. The combined investment is reportedly in the region of $500,000 AUD.

"Bitcoin is a game-changer, but the process of buying, selling and using Bitcoin is still relatively hard. CoinJar changes that by making Bitcoin more accessible and, eventually much more useful. Their approach of offering a secure consumer wallet and merchant payment capability for bitcoin in addition to a liquid exchange is what makes them interesting; as consumer and business adoption of Bitcoin becomes more mainstream, CoinJar is well-placed to be a significant participant," said investor, Chris Hitchen. "The team, product and vision are all strong and I'm excited to be involved."

The Melbourne based startup co-founded by Asher Tan and Ryan Zhou operates a platform where users can buy, sell and transact in bitcoin. It also provides merchant services for those looking to accept bitcoin as a medium of payment.

Bitcoin companies have gained strong interest from venture capital firms around the world as interest in the cryptocurrency, along with its price, has risen to new heights. China and Singapore are among the countries which have recently seen a wave of Bitcoin related investment deals.

“Bitcoin is moving past a purely speculative play. It is only a matter of time until business and consumers take full advantage of Bitcoin as a solution to digital payments,” said Asher Tan, co-founder and CEO of CoinJar. The company has already seen partnerships with a wide-range of goods and services providers including Australian utility vehicle producer Tomcar and crowd funding website, Pozible.

With over 10,000 Australian users, the company is looking to expand globally. CoinJar is a graduate of Australian startup incubator, AngelCube.

About CoinJar

CoinJar, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, is a consumer-oriented bitcoin wallet and exchange. The website is available at (https://www.coinjar.com). CoinJar for iPhone is available free on the Apple App Store at (http://bit.ly/1atsp7t).

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