New York-based startup R3 CEV originally sought to raise $200 million in its first funding round, but banks involved in the blockchain consortium expressed interest in investing just $59 million.
Reuters confirmed that R3 restructured its initial $200 million funding round, offering investors a 90 percent stake, to $150 million in return for a 60 percent stake in the new entity.
A person close to the deal told Reuters that the consortium invited its original bank members to invest and will also reach out to an additional 30 banks, as well as external companies.
The company has gained financial backing from many global big banks since its launch, including UBS Group, Deutsche Bank AG and HSBC. The blockchain consortium and development lab is believed to have a total of 70 members, who pay membership fees to participate.
Last week, Goldman Sachs dropped out of the R3 CEV blockchain group, letting its membership lapse as of Oct. 31. According to The Wall Street Journal, a Goldman Sachs spokeswoman confirmed the membership lapse but that Goldman Sachs plans to continue to work with blockchain technology.
Goldman Sachs was one of the nine original members of R3, which was created back in 2014 to explore ways to use blockchain technology with Wall Street. Blockchain is the technology behind bitcoin, the popular alternative digital currency.
Although Goldman Sachs was part of R3, it’s not the only game in town with Wall Street banks backing different blockchain ventures. Banks are eyeing blockchain technology to make transactions faster, lower the cost of operators and secure its infrastructure. An R3 spokesman told WSJ that turnover in the group is to be expected. “Developing technology like this requires dedication and significant resources, and our diverse pool of members all have different capacities and capabilities, which naturally change over time,” the spokesman said in an email to WSJ.
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