Six months after raising an $18.3M Series A, BlockFi announced today that it has raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Valar Ventures. Other participating investors include Morgan Creek Digital, PJC, Akuna Capital, CMT Digital, Avon Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, Purple Arch Ventures, Kenetic Capital, Winklevoss Capital, Arrington XRP Capital, and Hong Kong-based HashKey Capital.
BlockFi products include crypto-based interest accounts providing up to an 8.6% annual percentage yield on Bitcoin, Ether, and stablecoins; crypto-backed loans which allow investors to access liquidity up to 50% of an asset’s value in USD; and zero-fee crypto trading. The company now boasts more than $650M in assets on the platform, with a 0% loss rate across its entire loan portfolio since the company began lending in January 2018.
The BlockFi team reports growing revenue more than 20x in 2019, which was the catalyst for this fundraise. Proceeds will be utilized to grow the team at an accelerated pace and expand BlockFi’s offerings to include products accessible to a mainstream audience, starting with a mobile app in the coming months.
“We were proud to have made our first investment in the crypto sector with BlockFi, and we’re excited to continue propelling the company forward as they define the industry standard for what a modern financial services company for cryptocurrency looks like,” said Andrew McCormack, general partner at Valar Ventures. “To say the least, BlockFi has been one of the most successful companies we’ve invested in right out of the gate.”
“At BlockFi, we believe that access to wealth-building financial products shouldn’t be limited by geography or net worth. With this investment, we’re one step closer to realizing that vision,” said Zac Prince, CEO, and Co-Founder, BlockFi. “As our platform continues to mature, BlockFi clients benefit from more diverse products, and in turn, greater financial empowerment.”
“For most people, cryptocurrencies are something out of speculative fiction. Adoption of these assets is limited by the average consumer’s ability to understand how to use them,” said Flori Marquez, VP of Operations and Co-Founder, BlockFi. “We’ve demonstrated that we can build financial products around cryptocurrency that can look and feel like the apps you already have on your phone, and we’re well-positioned to drive mainstream adoption.”
On the institutional side of the platform, BlockFi has expanded rapidly and is servicing over 50 of the most reputable institutional clients in the crypto market. In addition to a rapidly growing team and asset supply base, the company is excited to announce plans to open a new office in Singapore in the first half of 2020 to better serve its Asia Pacific institutional clients.
