BlockFi is more than just a bank.
Editor’s note: This article comes from the strategic cooperation blockchain media “Odaily Planet Daily” (Public ID: o-daily, < a href="https://download.odaily.com/">APP Download)
Reported according to the block , Canadian encryption lending startup BlockF has recently completed a $18.3 million Series A round of financing, which will be used for international expansion and the launch of new financial products.
It is reported that the leading investor is Valar Ventures, Valar Ventures was founded by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, and the investors are Winklevoss Capital, Galaxy Digital, consensus, Akuna Capital, Susquehanna, CMT Digital, Morgan Creek, Avon Ventures. And PJC.
According to BlockFi CEO Zac Prince, Valar’s investment in BlockFi is its first investment in the cryptocurrency sector. The venture capital firm is known for its financial technology investments, including point-to-point currency exchange TransferWise, investment application Stash and emerging challenger bank N26.
Valar General Partner James Fitzgerald said BlockFi’s products are pushing cryptocurrencies to the mainstream market. “We are excited to help BlockFi provide a powerful shovel for this emerging asset class,” he said.
At present, BlockFi has completed several rounds of venture capital before the A round of investment, and in July 2018 raised $50 million from Galaxy Digital Galaxy Digital as a loan facility; in the financing last December, the company It also raised $4 million through convertible debt instruments, and earlier this year, Coinbase Ventures also conducted an undisclosed capital increase.
According to the company statement, BlockFi plans will fundGold is used to increase product lines and expand the scale of employees. Zac Prince, CEO of BlockFi, said that the current number of employees has reached 40; by the end of this year, it may grow to around 60.
He said that although BlockFi is currently engaged in cryptocurrency deposits and loans, the company is now focusing on product diversification to reach a wider range of mainstream audiences. Prince believes that BlockFi is not a bank, but a financial technology company that mimics the SoFi model. SoFi is a private lending company that initially operated on student loans to Ivy League borrowers, and later became a stop for mortgages, personal loans, checks, and even an investment platform that will offer encrypted transactions. Store.
Public information shows that the company, which was founded in 2017, launched its premier product in March this year – Bitcoin Interest Account (BIA), in which global users can deposit Bitcoin or Ethereum in their accounts. To earn interest, BlockFi provides customers with compound interest (in profit-making mode) every month, with an annual interest rate of 6.2%, and users can withdraw funds at any time. According to CEO and founder Zac Prince, users have deposited more than $35 million in cryptocurrencies (about 80% of Bitcoin) into their interest-bearing accounts since beta testing began in January. Among them, in the two weeks after the official release on March 5, it raised $25 million.
In addition to deposits, BlockFi also offers cryptocurrency-backed loans. Through mortgage lending, customers use Bitcoin, Litecoin or Ethereum as collateral to borrow French dollars at an annual interest rate of 4.5%, where the customer loan amount is only 50% of the value of the mortgaged asset.
Prince said that the company will continue to enter the “second phase” of its roadmap, which will include the launch of the BTC Reward Credit Card and will complement the existing crypto loan and interest savings account products; The third phase includes expansion to emerging markets such as Latin America. New credit card products will require new product managers, new compliance officers and other technical resources.
As for other changes that the platform may bring,Prince hinted at the possibility of eliminating the minimum amount of bitcoin deposits.
Since the introduction of Bitcoin interest products in March, BlockFi has adjusted interest rates based on market supply and demand. Currently, deposits with more than 25 BTC or 500 ETH accounts, the incremental fund rate drops to 2% per annum.
