BlockFi Raising Another Funding At A 70% Higher Valuation than March

Cryptocurrency lending firm BlockFi is raising another funding from new and existing investors at a valuation of about $5 billion. The latest financing is not closed yet, and the valuation could grow. According to a report from the Information, the crypto startup is in late-stage talks with Daniel Loeb’s New York-based hedge fund Third Point Management and London-based venture firm Hedosophia leading the round. The latest round values the company roughly 70% higher than its March funding and 11 times its valuation in August, when investors priced it at $435 million, as per financial data firm PitchBook. Just three months back in March, the New Jersey-based company completed a $350 million Series D funding round led by Bain Capital Ventures, partners of DST Global, Pomp Investments, and Tiger Global at a valuation of $3 billion. Founded in 2017, BlockFi manages more than $15 billion in assets. In the first four months of 2021, the company slashed the interest rates on crypto lending twice as demand for borrowing crypto assets dropped. Last month, in a botched promotion giveaway, instead of stablecoins, BlockFi accidentally gave about a hundred of its customers’ Bitcoin, as much as in three digits.