Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will acquire cryptographic security company Unbound Security in a move that will also have the U.S. company launch a research facility in Israel.
In a Tuesday blog post, Coinbase said it would be purchasing Unbound to gain access to its cryptographic security experts as well as establish a presence in Israel. The exchange cited Unbound’s work in multi-party computation to provide users with the “virtually impenetrable nature of cold, offline storage, with the frictionless convenience of hot, online wallets.”
“We’ve long recognized Israel as a hot bed of strong technology and cryptography talent, and are excited to continue to grow our team with some of the best and brightest minds in these fields,” said Coinbase. “The Unbound Security team will form the nucleus of this new research facility, which we plan to grow over time.”
The Unbound acquisition is the latest of many for the major crypto exchange following its public listing on Nasdaq in April, giving the firm a roughly $100 billion valuation. Last week, the team at crypto wallet provider BRD announced it would be joining Coinbase in an effort to “help accelerate Web 3.0 adoption” as well as provide “deep expertise in self-custody.”
Coinbase did not immediately disclose the terms of the Unbound acquisition. The exchange has already purchased firms including Agara, an artificial intelligence-enabled support platform with operations in India, data aggregator Zabo, and data analytics platform Skew, with each agreement likely in the millions if not more.
Related: Israel reportedly adopts new AML rules for crypto
As cryptocurrency prices continue to be volatile, Coinbase announced in August that it had stockpiled a war chest worth roughly $4 billion in cash to prepare for a potentially harsh crypto winter, spurred by decreased crypto retail trading volumes and higher operating costs from regulatory hurdles. The company reported revenue of $1.2 billion in the third quarter of 2021, with profits totaling $406 million.
