Billionaire Tim Draper leads funding round for Bitcoin lending start-up Zest Protocol

TIM Draper - the billionaire tech investor - has been named as the leading figure behind a $3.5 million funding round for a Bitcoin lending start-up with only half a dozen employees.

Flow Traders and Binance Labs have also been revealed by Zest Protocol and its founder Tycho Onnasch among the 16 investors.

The decentralised platform allows for peer-to-peer transactions without a middleman or intermediary, thereby allowing its users to either borrow against their Bitcoin or loan it out.

The $3.5m will be used for further expansion later in the year.