"We believe blockchain technology will transform how people and companies interact,” said Micah Winkelspecht, CEO and founder of Gem. “It will underpin entire industries and, one day, produce a blockchain economy that will form the underlying architecture of our daily lives.” In the past few years, the investment community has warmed up to the blockchain and bitcoin ecosystems, which, according to a report by Magister Advisors, has received $1 billion in funding since 2013. Projections for the next couple years call for that number to increase by another $1 billion in 2017. But for 2016, Gem marks the first of its kind to make such a funding announcement.

http://www.pymnts.com/news/2016/gem-scores-2016s-first-blockchain-investment/