@daily_btc_lore | Daily Bitcoin History Threads

Xapo Raises $20M, Sets Bitcoin's Biggest Funding RecordXapo Raises $20M, Sets Bitcoin's Biggest Funding Record

On July 8, 2014, a bitcoin custody startup founded by a former Patagonian sheep rancher announced the largest funding round the industry had ever seen, and picked up Silicon Valley's most connected board observer in the process.

From Sheep Ranch to Silicon ValleyFrom Sheep Ranch to Silicon Valley

Wences Casares grew up on a sheep ranch in Patagonia, Argentina, and watched his family's savings wiped out three times by hyperinflation and currency crises. That experience shaped a career built almost entirely around protecting other people's money, first through several fintech companies he built and sold, and later through Xapo, the bitcoin custody company he founded to solve the problem at its root.

Xapo stored customer bitcoin in underground vaults, including a decommissioned Swiss military bunker, guarded and disconnected from the internet entirely. Casares became known across the industry as bitcoin's "Patient Zero," a nickname for the sheer number of Silicon Valley's most powerful investors he personally introduced to bitcoin. At one conference, he reportedly passed a phone loaded with a quarter million dollars in bitcoin hand to hand around the room, just to show it could be done.

The Record RoundThe Record Round

On July 8, 2014, Xapo announced $20 million in new funding from Greylock Partners and Index Ventures, bringing its total raised to $40 million, the largest amount any bitcoin company had gathered at that point. Max Levchin, Yuri Milner, and Jerry Yang also participated, according to TechCrunch's coverage that morning.

The round valued Xapo above $100 million. Emergence Capital partner Santi Subotovsky summarized the thesis to VentureBeat that same day: "Think of Xapo as a next-generation bank."

Patient Zero Joins the BoardPatient Zero Joins the Board

Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn's co-founder and the investor credited with coining Casares' "Patient Zero" nickname, joined Xapo's board as an observer alongside Index Ventures' Mike Volpi. The same announcement confirmed bitcoin debit cards would begin shipping to customers that month, letting people spend bitcoin like ordinary currency anywhere cards were accepted.

What Came AfterWhat Came After

Xapo's custody business was acquired by Coinbase in 2019. At its peak, Xapo is estimated to have held around 7 percent of all bitcoin in existence, once locked behind mountain rock because one rancher's son refused to trust a bank with it again.

Part of an ongoing series on Bitcoin history. This event falls on July 8, 2014.