21 Inc Applies for Digital Currency Mining Circuitry Patent
21 Inc, the best-funded company in bitcoin, has filed a patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
21 Inc, the best-funded company in bitcoin, has filed a patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a form of digital currency mining circuitry.
The USPTO – the agency charged with issuing patents to investors and businesses and registering product and intellectual property trademarks – published the submission on 15th October.
Filed in April last year, the filing lists Matthew Pauker; co-founder and chairman at 21 Inc, Nigel Drego; co-founder and chief architect, Veerbhan Kheterpal; president and co-founder and Daniel Fir; co-founder as inventors of a digital currency mining circuitry.
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Although published by the USPTO, 21 Inc's application is still pending approval, a process which can take years. The USPTO process also enables the public to oppose patents if they consider the application in question is unjustified.
The startup, which has accumulated $116m in funding to date, launched its first consumer product – a bitcoin computer for developers – to mixed reviews last month.
The publication of 21 Inc's filing comes after the news that Coinbase had submitted patent applications for nine different bitcoin products.
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CoinDesk reached out to 21 Inc for comment, but no reply was received by press time.
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