UPDATED 11:30 EST / NOVEMBER 15 2023

BLOCKCHAIN

Blockchain.com raises $110M in funding led by Kingsway Capital

Blockchain.com, a cryptocurrency exchange and wallet service, announced Tuesday that it secured $110 million in late-stage funding led by Kingsway Capital as crypto markets and investments continue to remain low after challenges

The Series E strategic financing round was joined by numerous investors, including Baillie Gifford, Lakestar, LSVP, GV, Access Industries, Moore Capital, Prudence, Freeman Capital, Pledge Ventures and Coinbase Ventures. A report from Bloomberg said the round brought the company’s valuation to less than half of the $14 billion estimate after a funding round in March 2022 that included Baille Gifford and Lightspeed Ventures.

Founded in 2011, Blockchain.com began its journey as a blockchain explorer, a type of analysis tool that allows visitors to view transactions on the distributed ledger ecosystem and track them from their origin to their current status. As the company evolved it entered into the cryptocurrency wallet and exchange business, allowing users to hold, buy, sell and trade their tokens on its platform.

Since then, the company has onboarded more than 90 million wallets for over 40 million verified users and facilitated in excess of $1 trillion in crypto transactions.

Similar to many crypto companies, Blockchain.com was caught up in what was dubbed “crypto winter,” an event that occurred in 2022 when the token of former Chief Executive of Terraform Lab’s Do Kwon’s TerraUSD stablecoin ecosystem collapsed and caused a market-wide cryptocurrency crash. This created a domino effect of collapses and bankruptcies including the Three Arrows Capital crypto hedge fund. Blockchain.com reported it loaned $270 million to 3AC in cryptocurrency and U.S. dollars.

The implosion of 3AC had a significant impact on both the crypto markets and the industry as whole during 2022, and its fallout collectively affected numerous crypto lending firms and exchanges. Crypto lender Celsius Network LLC and crypto broker Voyager Digital Ltd. both lent large amounts to 3AC, subsequently suspended customer fund withdrawals and then filed for bankruptcy protection after 3AC defaulted on the loans.

During the crypto market downturn in July 2022, the company cut 25% of its staff, or about 150 people, at the time, citing poor market conditions and financial losses. The company also closed its Argentinian office to cut costs.

As part of the funding deal, Manny Stotz, founder and CEO of Kingsway Capital, and Nicolas Brand, partner at Lakestar, will join the Blockchain.com board of directors.

Image: Pixabay

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