Bitcoin pushes Coinbase to No.1 iPhone app in the U.S.
Everyone seems to have bitcoin fever.
The craze over the cryptocurrency – which has seen massive gains in value as of late – has pushed Coinbase, an app that allows users to buy, sell and store Bitcoin, to the top spot on Apple’s list of the most downloaded apps.
Coinbase, which was founded in 2012, took the top spot for free apps on Thursday as the price of Bitcoin skyrocketed past $17,000, a price jump of over 20% in 24 hours. The cryptocurrency was selling near $1,000 at the beginning of the year.
The uptick in downloads actually caused Coinbase’s service to become unavailable for large portions of the day, making it impossible for people to check their balance or buy more of the digital currency.
However, things seem to have stabilized as of Friday morning.
In August, Coinbase raised over $100 million in Series D funding by IVP, with participation from Spark Capital, Greylock Partners, and Battery Ventures, driving their valuation to $1.6 billion.