Cryptocurrency Wallet Provider Blockchain.info Surpasses 25 Million Wallets
Cryptocurrency wallet provider Blockchain.info has recently surpassed 25 million user wallets, a new milestone in the crypto space.
While the company has opened an unprecedented number of wallets, its users criticized it for not implement SegWit yet.
UK-based cryptocurrency startup Blockchain.info has recently hit a new milestone as it surpassed 25 million customer wallets on its platform, according to Yahoo Finance. The company’s growth has been supported by notable hires and $70 million raised to date.
According to Yahoo’s report, the company has touted that 25 million is more than the customer base of TD Ameritrade, which as 11 million accounts, and Charles Schwab, which has 9 million. Blockchain.info’s competitor Coinbase notably had a user base of 13 million in November, the last time the company publicly shared the number.
It should be noted, however, that 25 million wallets doesn’t mean the company has that exact number of users, as one user can have multiple wallets. Interestingly, according to Bitcoin Private the number of BTC wallets with a positive balance is of 22 million, which implies some of Blockchain.info’s bitcoin wallets are empty, or that some of its users don’t use the flagship cryptocurrency.
Reacting to the company’s announcement on Twitter, various users noted it supported the controversial SegWit2x hard fork, which was set to increase bitcoin’s blocksize to 2 MB but failed to reach consensus.
Others added the company hasn’t yet adopted SegWit (Segregated Witness), a scaling solution created by the Bitcoin Core development team, despite claiming it was ready for it earlier this year.
Notably, Blockchain has been investing in its growth. In total, it has raised $70 million in funding to date, and has made some notable hires. These include Facebook and Google veteran Peter Wilson as its vice president of engineering, as well as former Goldman Sachs’ head of institutional wealth services Breanne Madigan as its head of institutional sales and strategy.
Earlier this year the company’s CEO, Peter Smith, revealed he believes everyone should have a small amount of cryptocurrency in their portfolio. He said:
“Everyone should have some meaningful yet small allocation. You should buy crypto in amounts that you’re not worried about, and you should sell it whenever you start thinking about it once a day.”
Peter Smith
Speaking to Yahoo, a Blockchain spokesperson said the company has “experienced unprecedented growth in the last few months.” Besides allowing users to open Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum wallets, Blockchain also shows real-time activity on the bitcoin blockchain through its “blockchain explorer.”
Featured image from Shutterstock.