Overstock.com’s blockchain accelerator, Medici Ventures, has invested $5 million in agriculture commodity blockchain startup GrainChain.
The latest round brings the Texas-based GrainChain’s total funding to $10.7 million. Medici Ventures previously invested $2.5 million in the blockchain firm for a 10-per cent equity.
Founded in 2013, GrainChain’s platform aims to provide faster payments and the immediate availability of tradeable commodities between buyers and farmers.
The blockchain helps reduce fraud and corruption by providing a way to track and certify deals. It also has the added benefit of streamlining and modernizing transactional procedures in the commodities supply chain.
GrainChain co-founder and CEO Luis Macias said the new funding would be used for product development and expansion to meet market demands in more countries.
The company has been focusing on the Honduran coffee industry, attempting to link up its disjointed components through blockchain technology.
It recently signed deals throughout the supply chain from farmer to exporter to mitigate risks, confusion, and profit-draining inefficiency. The company also links farmers with banks and hopes to launch banking in rural coffee-producing areas.
“GrainChain’s work in reducing the time and spoilage associated with agricultural transactions, while also driving down frictional costs for both farmers and buyers is a shining example of Medici Ventures’ mission to democratize capital, eliminate middlemen, and re-humanize commerce through the use of blockchain technology,” said Jonathan Johnson, Overstock CEO and Medici Ventures President.
Founded in 2014, Medici aims to accelerate the adoption of blockchain-driven technologies to change the way that transactions occur.
The firm’s keiretsu (a Japanese term referring to a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings) of companies have introduced blockchain in a variety of markets, including land governance, money and banking, capital markets, supply chain, and voting.
Last month, Aussie blockchain firm AgriChain raised A$6 million ($4 million) from Cornerstone Growth Capital. The company has developed a blockchain supply chain management platform for agricultural products. It aims to connect growers, brokers, and logistics partners on a single platform.
Also, New York City-based Bison Trails, a technology company that provides secure, enterprise-grade infrastructure for multiple blockchain networks, announced that it has raised $25.5 million in its Series A funding round led by Blockchain Capital.
