Gem CEO explains ‘The Why of Bitcoin,’ and starts 2016 with US$7.1M in funding

Micah Winkelspecht is founder and CEO of Gem, a secure and simple platform for Bitcoin developers. As development in the Bitcoin universe is exploding, it’s critical to understand why the underlying principles of money are important.

Developing with Bitcoin is difficult. While many prominent technologists and investors believe the technology has the potential to disrupt major industries, including banking and finance, the Internet of Things, identity management and many others, the underlying Bitcoin protocol is quite complex, creating a barrier to entry for new developers. In addition to a steep learning curve, Bitcoin companies have become a target for hackers which has multiplied the security risk that comes with building a Bitcoin app or service.

High-profile thefts at well-known Bitcoin companies like Bitstamp, Bter and Coinapult have highlighted the security risk. In total, roughly 10% of all bitcoins that have ever existed have been lost or stolen due to poor security practices.

Gem is a developer API platform that simplifies integrating Bitcoin into apps and services, and has made it a mission to eliminate security issues, shorten the learning curve and make Bitcoin friendly to every developer, everywhere, regardless of what they are building.

The company recently raised US$7.1m in Series A financing, led by Pelion Venture Partners, having previously raised US$4.9m from seed and angel investors. The round initiates a new chapter for the business, as it expands to meet the growing mainstream demand for blockchain expertise. The company had previously raised $4.9m.