Bitfury Pays in Bitcoin to Join UK's Innovate Finance

The leading Bitcoin infrastructure provider Bitfury has officially joined the London fintech group Innovate Finance this week after announcing it would enter the accelerator back in November of 2015. According to Business Insider, Bitfury paid £10,000, or 37.55 BTC, to join the organization that aims to propel the UK’s position as the fintech community’s global technology hub.

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Bitfury Pays BTC to Join Innovate Finance

In fact, Bitfury will be the first members that pay for their enrollment in bitcoin, and the company wouldn’t have it any other way. The UK group has over 150 members including IBM, Mastercard, and Visa but none of these businesses have paid for membership with cryptocurrency. “This technology while having a myriad of other uses, allows users to transfer currency using bitcoin in a secure and fast way,” CEO Velery Vavilov told Business Insider. “Because of these benefits, Bitfury seeks to make payments in Bitcoin whenever possible.”

He added that they are proud to push the Bitcoin blockchain to the forefront of fintech stating:

The bitcoin blockchain is receiving increased attention for its potential to secure financial services, so as a member of Innovate Finance, Bitfury hopes to bring an understanding of bitcoin and blockchain to the other members and to the fintech industry as a whole.

Bitfury has already begun collaborating with the UK fintech scene and will be working alongside Hartree Lab researching and developing Bitcoin-based technology. The infrastructure provider has positioned itself in the region by establishing an office at the financial technology center Level 39. The company aims to lead development within this emerging market and expand its operations. Innovate Finance wanted to facilitate Bitfury’s membership with Bitcoin because it seemed natural to use financial technology within the application process. An Innovate Spokeswoman explained in the announcement:

Given that we are a fintech company — we have to practice what we preach. We agreed under the condition to accept that payment method. We used Coinbase’s bitcoin exchange to process the payment. They are one of our most influential members.

The Innovate Finance group gives Bitfury more exposure, offers business growth opportunities, provides insight into the developing fintech industry landscape, and offers commercial benefits within the organization. Bitfury is showing continued financial tech expansion with its operations in Georgia and its Level 39 London office. Two weeks ago the infrastructure provider had also announced a collaborative union with the African-based startup Bitpesa by investing in the company. Vavilov said Bitpesa enables the trusted exchange of the digital currency in the region, and they aim to leverage this position for “the benefit of the entire pan-African continent.”

Innovate Finance CEO Laurence Wintermeyer said back in November that Bitfury’s diligence in this sector makes them a great addition to the organization. “BitFury’s proven track record of enterprise-grade deployment and continued technological innovation will add great value to Innovate Finance’s ecosystem and the blockchain lab,” Wintermeyer said.

What do you think about Bitfury paying for its membership in BTC? Let us know in the comments below!

Images courtesy of Bitfury’s websites, and Pixbay