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Crypto lender BlockFi lands institutional investor for Asia expansion

With a new institutional partner in Three Arrows Capital, BlockFi plans to open an office in Singapore to expand into Asian markets and beyond.

Crypto lending and borrowing service BlockFi today announced that it has partnered with the Singapore-based institutional fund manager Three Arrows Capital. The companies did not reveal the finances behind the deal, but said their first goal is to expand BlockFi into Asia.

“In being an institutional client of BlockFi, we quickly recognized that the company’s mission of helping to expand the cryptocurrency ecosystem aligned with our own philosophy for the space,” said Co-founder and CEO of Three Arrows Capital Su Zhu in a press release.

📣 We are excited to welcome Three Arrows Capital as a new strategic investor. Read more ⬇https://t.co/IgZOK5kRJM

— BlockFi (@TheRealBlockFi) April 9, 2020

BlockFi CEO Zac Prince told Decrypt the partnership will help their company expand its institutional services into the Asia Pacific region. “We have plans for opening an office in Singapore that’ll cater specifically to this audience,” Prince said. “Working with Three Arrows Capital in this new capacity as a strategic partner will ensure we’re approaching expansion with the right expertise.”

As BlockFi attempts to expand to more institutional investors, whose service now boasts over 90 clients, Prince explained that their savings and borrowing services are used differently by retail and institutional investors. 

“One way to look at it [is that] retail users typically deposit cryptocurrencies with us to secure high-yield compound interest on their digital assets, and institutional clients borrow crypto from us,” he said. “On the institutional side, we offer clients tailored financing solutions that give market-makers, funds, exchanges, and family offices access to a variety of cryptocurrencies for them to execute on trading strategies and hedging their positions.”

On the retail side, Prince said their individual clients maintain “an average of $8,000 worth of crypto in a BlockFi Interest Account.” Last month, the company increased interest rates on their Bitcoin and Ethereum savings accounts despite the brief market crash, as an “increased level of activity” for their interest service allowed them to offer better rates. The company has also introduced international wire transfers to boost liquidity and as a new on-ramp to attract new retail investors.

Three Arrows Capital is far from the first major player to back BlockFi. Earlier this year, the company raised $30 million in a Series B funding round, which included the participation of the Winklevoss Twins, Anthony Pompliano’s Morgan Creek Capital, Nic Carter’s Castle Island Venture’s and Michael Arrington’s XRP Capital.

BlockFi has now raised well over $100 million and reportedly houses over $650 million in assets on the platform. 

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