FinTech News
BlockFi Announces $350 Million Funding Round
With Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continuing to show strength, FinTechs that make such assets more accessible or who utilize them in interesting ways are seeing impressive growth as well. In turn, recent weeks have brought significant investments to such firms. The latest example of this trend is BlockFi, which just revealed an impressive funding round.
Today, BlockFi announced that it had closed a $350 million funding round that valued the company at $3 billion. The Series D was led by Bain Capital Ventures, Pomp Investments, Tiger Global, and partners of DST Global. Additionally, Susquehanna Government Products, LLLP, Bracket Capital, Paradigm, Valar Ventures, Morgan Creek Digital, Akuna Capital, PJC, Hudson River Trading, ParaFi Capital, Jump Capital, Pacific Century Group, Gaingels, Third Prime, Kenetic, CMS Holdings, Breyer Capital, The Venture Collective, and Castle Island Ventures also participated. Prior to this round, the company had raised a total of $100 million to date.
This major funding round comes as BlockFi nears the release of its Bitcoin Rewards credit card. In addition to offering 1.5% back in Bitcoin on purchases, cardholders will also enjoy special perks on the BlockFi platform. Meanwhile, with the newly-acquired funds, BlockFi says it plans to explore acquisition opportunities as well as expand into new markets.
Acknowledging the accelerated growth the company has experienced in recent months, BlockFi co-founder and CEO Zac Prince remarked, “In less than six months since we completed our Series C, Bitcoin and other digital assets have assumed a central role in many investors’ portfolios and in broader financial markets. Our conviction that digital assets are the future of finance has been vindicated by our client base, which grew 10x YoY in 2020 and has more than doubled since the end of 2020.” Prince added, “Digital assets will continue to democratize finance, serve as a hedge against inflation and expansionary monetary policy, and promote innovation in financial technology and accessibility to financial services.”
Also reflecting on the company’s success so far, co-founder and SVP of Operations Flori Marquez stated, “Our goal for BlockFi has always been for it to facilitate cryptocurrencies going mainstream and each day provides more evidence that is exactly what is occurring. I’m incredibly proud of how quickly we have added new professionals and products to meet market demand, and excited to continue adding talent and products in the months ahead.”
It should come as no surprise that companies in the cryptocurrency space are gaining a lot of attention these days. Nevertheless, this $350 million round is still a blockbuster for BlockFi. With interest growing in their upcoming rewards credit card as well as their other products, perhaps it won’t be long before an even larger investment comes their way.
