BlockFi Closes $350M Series D Round

BlockFi’s latest $350 million series D funding round could very well put the company into the territory of digital asset unicorn.

According to the company, the round will allow BlockFi, whose total valuation is now $3 billion, will use the funds to enable further innovation in its product suite, accelerate expansion into new markets and provide capital for select acquisition opportunities. The company has recently been rapidly expanding its operations, adding additional products such as a bitcoin rewards credit card, an OTC trading desk and private client services in Asia.

“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 10 times year-over-year in 2020 and has more than doubled since the end of 2020,” said Zac Prince, CEO and Co-Founder of BlockFi, in a statement. “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.”

The company reports that its client base is at 225,000, up from 10,000 at the end of 2019. 

Revenue for the firm comes in at $50 million, with total assets under management at $15 billion. BlockFi currently has a head count of 500. 

“BlockFi is exactly an example of how crypto is revolutionizing finance for the better,” Clem Chambers, CEO of equity research platform ADVFN, told Blockworks. “Banks are like horse and carts, and DeFi platforms are like automobiles. Economies that don’t embrace this new paradigm will become backwaters.”

BlockFi began the fund raise in early January with Mark Yusko, CEO at Morgan Creek, one of the firm’s investors, confirming that a fund raise was in progress. Other reports pegged the funding round at $150 million at a valuation of $2.85 billion. 

This announcement comes on the heels of digital asset bank Anchorage closing an $80 million series C round led by Singapore’s GIC — a sovereign wealth fund known for its conservative, infrastructure-oriented investments. 

Overall 2021 has been off to a strong start for venture capital funding, with $35 billion invested so far in startups according to data from Crunchbase. London-based digital assets brokerage blockchain.com recently closed a $120 million round, valuing the firm at $3 billion. 

“We are in the early innings of retail and institutional crypto adoption; as demand grows, we see an enormous opportunity for crypto companies to offer a suite of sophisticated, scalable financial services to engage and empower clients,” said Stefan Cohen, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures, one of the firms that led the round. 

BlockFi has previously said that it would consider a SPAC, pending market conditions. All eyes are likely now going to be on Coinbase’s public listing to see how the market responds and if demand for digital asset infrastructure equities will continue to grow.