Pot-Friendly Bitcoin Startup Raises $1.5 Million

POSaBIT, a Seattle-based digital currency payments startup with a focus on serving legal cannabis outlets, has raised $1.5m in funding.

The round included participation from a number of Seattle-based angel investors, whose identities were not disclosed, as well as New York-based investment firm Digital Currency Group.

The funding will go to advancing POSaBIT's business development efforts, according to a statement. The startup also provided some details on adoption of its payments platform and sales in Washington state, which legalized marijuana in 2012.

"Already, over 25 stores in the state of Washington have used the POSaBIT platform to provide secure and efficient payment solutions to their customers, and those stores have already processed more than $2m in sales via digital currency," the firm said.

In line with its mission, POSaBIT was among those to notably speak out earlier this year when legislators in the state of Washington considered banning local cannabis firms from accepting bitcoin.

Though that measure ultimately failed, POSaBIT's team argued that its approach to payments meant that store owners could be less dependent on cash – as they largely lack access to the banking system due to federal statutes – thus reducing the risk of theft.

Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in POSaBIT.

Bitcoin and marijuana image via Shutterstock