Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2021

Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2021

This self-described crypto bank is among the oldest startups in bitcoin. Former Goldman Sachs VP Barhydt, 53, founded the company in 2014 to help immigrant employees send money back home to their families. Today, Abra offers a souped-up bitcoin wallet that lends out both crypto and dollars held by its depositors at rates as high as 12%. The depositor receives 85% of the interest, while Abra takes the rest. The Mountain View, California-based firm also makes money on the spread between the spot price and the trade price for crypto transactions. This is such a new area that it's a regulatory grey zone: In 2020, the SEC and CFTC fined the firm $300, 000 for selling security-based swaps without proper registration. The fast-growing firm, which is profitable, is on track to increase revenue seven-fold this year, to roughly $75 million. Alchemy makes it easier to read and write information onto blockchains, such as ethereum and flow. The service starts free for smaller developers, but larger customers pay a monthly fee. The San Francisco-based firm is on pace to increase revenue 10-fold this year, to an estimated $20 million as it helps clients like PwC, Unicef and OpenSeat conduct more than