BlockFi Seeks New Funding Ahead of IPO Plans

Morgan Creek Digital is planning to co-lead a Series D funding round in BlockFi, a digital wealth management platform, along with Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures later this year.

Mark Yusko, CEO at Morgan Creek, disclosed the news to Blockworks but declined to comment further until details of the deal are negotiated. 

Zac Prince, founder and CEO of BlockFi, denied the claim in an email to Blockworks. Valar Ventures did not respond to requests for comment.

The New Jersey-based BlockFi has raised $158.7 million to date and has said it plans to go public in the second half of 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

The three-year-old startup began as a provider of U.S. dollar loans backed by cryptocurrency. It has since expanded its product suite for retail customers (which includes a high interest deposit account and bitcoin-back credit card) and launched institutional services. Last month, BlockFi landed a partnership with Fidelity Digital Assets, the investment giant’s bitcoin custody and trade execution business, to issue crypto-backed loans to its institutional customers.

Morgan Creek Digital led BlockFi’s Series C of $50 million in August. Valar led its A and B rounds in August 2019 and February 2020, respectively, and BlockFi was its first investment in a cryptocurrency company.

Susquehanna, Fidelity, CMT, Akuna, Three Arrows Capital, Hashkey, National Basketball Association player Matthew Dellavedova and two unnamed university endowments are among BlockFi’s other investors.