<p>GrainChain, a blockchain-based agricultural startup, has raised $8.2 million from Overstock subsidiary Medici Ventures, blockchain venture firm Eden Block, and other investors. </p> <p><a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/03/06/1996512/0/en/Medici-Ventures-Purchases-Additional-Equity-in-GrainChain.html">Announced</a> today, the funding round was led by Medici Ventures, which contributed $5 million to the total $8.2 million. The investment firm is an early investor of the startup, purchasing $2.5 million of GrainChain's equity shares in December 2018. At the time, the two companies agreed on a warrant that allows Medici to buy additional stakes in the startup, which the investment firm exercised in this latest funding round. </p> <p>Founded in 2013, GrainChain runs a platform that tracks commodities on a distributed ledger. The firm develops software that certifies and monitors their inventories while using smart contracts to help farmers to trade and settle with buyers. </p> <p>“GrainChain has quietly become one of the most successful blockchain-meets-agriculture platforms on the market by allowing more and more farmers to receive fair value and prompt payment for their crops, while also selling to a larger pool of buyers,” Overstock CEO and Medici Ventures president Jonathan Johnson said in a statement. </p>