Crypto exchange Blockchain.com raises US$110 million at a fraction of prior valuation

BLOCKCHAIN.COM, which operates a cryptocurrency exchange and wallet service, closed a US$110 million round of funding led by UK-based Kingsway Capital, the latest sign that crypto-focused venture-capital investments are picking up amid this year’s rebound in digital-asset prices.

The equity round also included investments from the likes of Baillie Gifford, Lakestar, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coinbase Ventures and others. Blockchain.com is adding two new board members from Kingsway and Lakestar. The Series E strategic financing leaves the company valued at less than half of its US$14 billion valuation in the spring of 2022, according to a source familiar with the matter who asked to remain anonymous because the information has not been made public.

Last fall, Blockchain.com received strategic financing from investors including Kingsway. In March of 2022, just before a series of crises hammered the valuations of most companies in crypto, Blockchain.com said it completed a round that more than doubled its estimated worth to US$14 billion and included Baillie Gifford and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Like many crypto companies, Blockchain.com has faced challenges since the prices of most tokens tumbled in 2022. The company disclosed major exposure to the collapse of the Three Arrows Capital hedge fund. The exchange also laid off staff.

The cryptocurrency market has begun to recover this year, with Bitcoin’s price more than doubling on optimism about the eventual approval of an exchange-traded fund investing directly in the world’s biggest cryptocurrency. Several new funds for investing in crypto have been started recently, showing a thaw in venture capital investments focused on crypto. BLOOMBERG