BlockFi Raises Over $18M in a Round Led by PayPal Co-Founders’ VC Firm

American cryptocurrency lender BlockFi has secured $18.3 million in a funding round led by Valar Ventures.

The Series A funding round saw participation from a number of crypto-focused investors, including Winklevoss Capital and Galaxy Digital, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Aug. 6. Other investors included ConsenSys Ventures, Akuna Capital, Avon Ventures, Susquehanna, CMT Digital, Morgan Creek and PJC.

Valar, founded by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, makes its first crypto investment

Per the report, Valar, which led the BlockFi’s new funding round, has made its first investment in a crypto-related company. Based in New York, Valar is one of three venture funds co-founded by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, who previously invested in crypto projects. Valar is known for investing in prominent fintech companies such as money transfer service Transferwise, mobile banking solutions provider N26, Qonto and Petal, the press release notes.

According to the report, BlockFi was the first company to receive institutional funding for crypto-based loans in United States dollars, in the form of a $50 million lending facility from Galaxy Digital. The new capital will reportedly be used to expand the array of products on BlockFi’s existing platform that includes interest-earning accounts for Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto-backed USD loans.

Earlier this year, BlockFi announced it had over $53 million in customer crypto assets under management.

Recently, Cointelegraph reported on Germany-based Bitcoin bank Bitwala securing roughly $14.5 million in a funding round that saw investment from firms including Sony Financial Ventures.