BlockFi is a lending platform that enables users to borrow funds and use cryptocurrencies as collateral. ^[8]

In October 2020, BlockFi took a 5% stake in Grayscale's $4.8 billion Bitcoin Trust.^[17]

BlockFi offers financial loans for crypto assets owners.

The company provides USD denominated loan backed by Bitcoin or Ether as collateral. The company also has an online platform for offering loans and calculation of interest percentage. ^[9]

BlockFi’s mission is to provide liquidity, transparency and efficiency to digital financial markets by creating products that meet the needs of consumers and corporations across the globe.

The company was founded in 2017 by Zac Prince and Flori Marquez and is headquartered in New York.^[5]

In December 2019, BlockFi launched a trading platform supporting three cryptocurrencies.

The new offering added to the company’s existing services: interest-bearing accounts and crypto-backed loans.

BlockFi completed registration with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and expanded its state licenses to cover both lending and money transmission.^[18] As of March 2020, clients could trade between Bitcoin, Ether, Gemini Dollar, USD Coin, Paxos, and Litecoin, subject to geographic availability.^[26]

In September 2020, the BlockFi team announced the platform now supports PAX Gold (PAXG) and Tether (USDT) in certain jurisdictions. PAXG is supported across the product portfolio, enabling the global client base to earn interest on gold-backed tokens, trade, and provide collateral for loans with this digital asset. Meanwhile, USDT is available for interest-earning accounts and trading among non-U.S. clients.^[23]

The BlockFi Interest Account provides clients with the ability to earn more crypto while holding for long-term investments.

Interest is paid monthly and compounds.

This significantly increases the potential earnings of long-term account holders.^[10]

The BlockFi Interest Account lets customers earn compound interest on their Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Gemini Dollar with no minimum balance required. Interest is compounded monthly and paid at the beginning of every month. The annual percentage yield (APY) for 0-10 BTC is 6.2%, which reduces to 2.2% for amounts greater than 10 BTC. For ETH, the APY is 4.1% for 0-1,000 ETH and 0.5% for amounts over 1,000 ETH. For GUSD, the APY is 8.6%. BlockFi allows customers to choose the currency of their interest payments through its product called Interest Payment Flex.^[18][27]

A loan from BlockFi enables clients to use their crypto assets as collateral and receive USD to their bank account.

Borrowing against their crypto assets enables clients to receive liquidity but does not trigger a capital gains tax event and, depending on the use of funds, the interest may be deductible against capital gains and other investment income.^[10]

For crypto-backed loans, BlockFi’s customers can use Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin as collateral and borrow up to 50% of the asset value in USD for 12 months. The starting interest rate is 4.5%. Loans are funded in USD, GUSD, or USDC directly into clients’ bank accounts or wallets. Customers can make monthly interest-only payments in dollars or cryptocurrency.^[18]

BlockFi Trading is an easy way to trade between clients' different assets within the BlockFi platform.

Clients can earn compound interest while trading.

BlockFi aggregates liquidity to offer seamless trade execution and pricing.^[10]

In December 2019, BlockFi announced the launch of its crypto trading platform for individual and institutional investors.

“BlockFi Trading will initially allow holders of cryptocurrencies to seamlessly trade between bitcoin, ether and the Gemini dollar (GUSD) within the BlockFi platform, subject to geographic availability,” the company explained.

In preparing to launch the trading platform, BlockFi completed registration as a money services business (MSB) with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (Fincen), a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury.^[18]

In June 2020, BlockFi partnered with Poolin, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency mining pools, to deliver key financial services to the global mining community.

With support from BlockFi, Poolin expanded its offering of financial services to miners, starting with bitcoin-collateralized loans.

“Miners have an increasing need to access financing, and as part of that they need assurance that their collateral is safe and secure,” said Poolin CEO Kevin Pan.^[25]

In September 2020, BlockFi became the first crypto company on the Symphony Platform, used to streamline and improve communication and collaboration with institutional clients.

“Being on Symphony is an important part of making BlockFi and our services easily available via a secure communication platform that traditional counterparties know and trust,” said Rene van Kesteren, Chief Risk Officer and Head of Global Digital Markets at BlockFi.^[22]

On October 13, 2020, BlockFi announced the partnership with the DeFi Alliance, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization providing support and mentorship to startups in the DeFi (decentralized finance) space, specifically in the areas of trading, markets and regulation. BlockFi joined an influential list of DeFi Alliance supporters, including DRW/Cumberland, CMT Digital, Aave, Compound Finance, Jump Capital, and Volt Capital.^[21]

In October 2020, BlockFi purchased 5.07% of shares in Grayscale's $4.8 billion Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), according to a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). BlockFi's filing is signed on October 26 and reports the October 15 purchase of 24,235,578 shares from the Trust. According to Grayscale's most recent annual filings, each share is worth 0.0001 BTC, meaning BlockFi's purchase is about 24,235.578 BTC.^[16]

On October 27, 2020, BlockFi announced they had entered into an agreement with asset management and tokenization firm Elevated Returns to provide lending facilities against digital assets issued within the Elevated Returns group of companies. Through these lending facilities, token holders will have access to capital while enabling them to hold onto their tokenized investments.^[20]

In February 2018, the BlockFi team announced that they raised $1.55 million from ConsenSys Ventures, Kenetic Capital, PJC, SoFi, Purple Arch Ventures, and Lumenary.^[11]

In July 2018, they raised $52.5 million in a funding round led by Galaxy Digital Ventures, the digital currency and blockchain tech firm founded by investor Michael Novogratz. Most of the capital - $50 million - was supposed to be used to loan to BlockFi’s customers. The rest - $2.5 million - is an equity investment in the company from Galaxy and earlier backers, including ConsenSys.^[12]

In August 2019, BlockFi received $18.3 million in a Series A funding round led by Valar Ventures. Valar, which was founded in part by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, was joined by Winklevoss Capital Management, Galaxy Digital, ConsenSys, Akuna Capital, Susquehanna, CMT Digital, Morgan Creek Capital, Avon Ventures and PJC.^[13]

In February 2020, BlockFi secured a $30 million Series B, led by Valar Ventures with participation from repeat investors Morgan Creek Digital, PJC, Akuna Capital, CMT Digital, Winklevoss Capital and Avon Ventures. New investors included Castle Island Ventures, Purple Arch Ventures, Kenetic Capital, Arrington XRP Capital and HashKey Capital.^[14]

In August 2020, BlockFi raised $50 million in Series C funding.

Morgan Creek Digital led the round, which included Valar Ventures, CMT Digital, Castle Island Ventures, Winklevoss Capital, SCB 10X, Avon Ventures, Purple Arch Ventures, Kenetic Capital, HashKey, Matthew Dellavedova and two unnamed university endowments. As part of the investment, Anthony Pompliano, co-founder and partner at Morgan Creek Digital, joined BlockFi’s board of directors.^[15]