BlockFi

What BlockFi does

BlockFi was a Jersey City-based crypto financial services company founded in 2017 by Zac Prince and Flori Marquez, operating an integrated platform that offered interest-earning accounts, crypto-collateralized lending, cryptocurrency trading, and a Visa Signature credit card with crypto rewards. Its core technology combined a tiered interest account structure (BIA), collateralized lending with overcollateralization requirements, and an integrated wallet/trading stack serving both retail and high-net-worth clients via a self-serve digital platform and a Private Client program with negotiated terms for larger balances. The company monetized primarily through interest spread on crypto lending (depositing client crypto at lower APYs and lending to institutional borrowers at higher rates), trading fees on its exchange, and credit card interchange via its partnership with Deserve. Geographically it served U.S. clients through BlockFi Inc. (FinCEN-registered MSB with state lending licenses) and non-U.S. clients through BlockFi International Ltd., which held a Class F license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

BlockFi's growth trajectory was cut short by the 2022 crypto credit cycle collapse. The company absorbed approximately $80 million in losses from Three Arrows Capital exposure in mid-2022 and signed a $400 million revolving credit facility with FTX US in June 2022, paired with an option for FTX US to acquire BlockFi at a variable price up to $240 million. Following FTX's own collapse in November 2022, BlockFi — exposed to over $1 billion in FTX-related receivables — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company's Plan of Reorganization was confirmed in September 2023 and became effective October 24, 2023, with the entity emerging as a wind-down estate administered by Kroll. BlockFi has announced plans to return over 100% of eligible claims to clients.

Today BlockFi is a non-operating wind-down entity. The web platform was permanently shut down on May 31, 2024, and the company's activities are limited to estate administration, KYC remediation, and distribution of recovered assets to former clients via Coinbase. The organization retains no active commercial operations, no live products, and no growth investments, with the priority being completion of creditor distributions rather than business continuation.

Name

BlockFi

Legal name

BlockFi Inc.

Website

https://blockfi.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

BlockFi was a Jersey City-based crypto financial services platform founded in 2017, offering interest-bearing crypto accounts, crypto-backed loans, trading, and a rewards credit card to retail and institutional investors. Following its 2022 Chapter 11 bankruptcy and FTX-related losses, it now operates solely as a wind-down estate returning assets to creditors under Kroll administration.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Crypto Lending & Financial Services

NAICS

Credit Card Issuing (52221), Credit Card Issuing (522210), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Personal Credit Institutions (6141), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Centralized Crypto Lending Platforms (CeFi) (FSADAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Unsecured / Under-Collateralized Crypto Credit (FSADAFAI), Crypto Card Issuing & Card Programs (Debit/Credit/Prepaid) (FSADAIAC), Crypto-Backed Business / SME Loans (Secured) (FSADAFAH)

Keywords

• Crypto lending
• Crypto interest accounts
• Crypto-backed loans
• Digital asset trading
• Crypto rewards card

Headquarters

HQ city

Jersey City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Interest Spread on Crypto Lending: BlockFi earns revenue by lending deposited cryptocurrency to institutional borrowers at higher rates than the APY paid to depositors. The spread between borrowing and lending rates constitutes primary revenue.
2. Trading Fees: Revenue from cryptocurrency trading activity conducted through the BlockFi Wallet platform, including spreads on exchange transactions
3. Credit Card Interchange: BlockFi Rewards Visa Signature Card generates revenue through interchange fees on transactions, with a portion of rewards paid in cryptocurrency

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

BlockFi operated a crypto financial services platform that paid interest on deposited cryptocurrencies, originated USD loans collateralized by crypto, provided crypto trading, and issued a Visa-branded crypto rewards credit card. The platform ceased operations in May 2024 as the company entered wind-down following its November 2022 Chapter 11 filing and October 2023 emergence from bankruptcy.

Product overview

BlockFi operated as a crypto financial services platform offering multiple integrated products. The core offerings included the BlockFi Interest Account (BIA) for earning yield on crypto holdings, the BlockFi Wallet for custody and transfers, BlockFi Trading for buying/selling cryptocurrency, and the BlockFi Rewards Visa Signature Card for crypto cashback. The Private Client program served high-net-worth clients with customized lending arrangements. All products were integrated through a unified platform with ACH transfer capabilities. Following the November 2022 FTX collapse and Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, the company emerged in October 2023 and is currently in estate wind-down mode, returning assets to clients through Kroll with distributions via Coinbase.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BlockFi Interest Account (BIA) Interest-bearing account that paid yield on deposited cryptocurrencies for retail users.
• BlockFi Wallet Custodial cryptocurrency wallet for storing digital assets within the BlockFi platform.
• BlockFi Trading Cryptocurrency trading venue integrated with BlockFi accounts for buying and selling digital assets.
• BlockFi Rewards Visa Signature Card Visa-branded credit card that paid crypto rewards on purchases, issued via a partner bank.
• Crypto-Backed Loans USD loans collateralized by deposited cryptocurrency, allowing borrowers to access liquidity without selling their crypto.
• BlockFi Private Client Premium service tier for high-net-worth individuals offering personalized service, dedicated support, and bespoke rates on interest and lending products.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $575 million in crypto interest paid to clients since inception
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• DeservecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDeserve is BlockFi's partner for the BlockFi Rewards Visa Signature Card. Deserve handles application underwriting, card issuance, payment processing, and transaction disputes for the credit card product. Cardholders can contact Deserve at +1 (833) 426-0304 for card-related inquiries.
• KrollcoreOthersKroll serves as the administrator of the BlockFi Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. They handle client communications, distribution processing, claims management, and customer support inquiries. Kroll's restructuring portal at restructuring.ra.kroll.com/blockfi provides information on estate distributions and claims status.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Celsius Network: Celsius operated an almost identical CeFi business model to BlockFi - interest-bearing crypto accounts, crypto-backed loans, and institutional lending - before filing for bankruptcy in July 2022. Direct structural twin in the CeFi lender cohort.
• Nexo: Nexo is a CeFi crypto lending platform offering interest-earning accounts, crypto-backed loans, and a crypto credit card. Closest surviving direct competitor with substantially the same product set as BlockFi.
• Genesis Global Capital: Genesis operated institutional and retail crypto lending and borrowing, including principal lending to counterparties similar to BlockFi's institutional book. Filed Chapter 11 in January 2023 following 3AC and FTX exposure.
• Voyager Digital: Voyager was a CeFi crypto lender/broker offering interest accounts and lending products nearly identical to BlockFi's BIA. Filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, making it a direct CeFi peer in both business model and 2022 distress cohort.
• Ledn: Ledn is a CeFi crypto lending platform offering interest accounts and Bitcoin-backed loans with a similar risk framework to BlockFi's pre-collapse operations. Surviving direct competitor focused on retail and SMB crypto credit.
• CoinLoan: CoinLoan operates a CeFi platform with crypto interest accounts, crypto-backed loans, and fiat-to-crypto lending products closely matching BlockFi's pre-collapse service offering for retail and SMB customers.

Broad incumbents

• Crypto.com: Crypto.com operates a much broader crypto super-app including crypto lending, interest-earning accounts, trading, and a Visa credit card - the same product suite BlockFi assembled but at significantly larger scale and consumer brand recognition.
• Gemini (Earn): Gemini offered the Gemini Earn yield product through a Genesis partnership, providing essentially the same crypto-interest yield service as BlockFi's BIA. Gemini is a larger, exchange-rooted incumbent that overlapped directly with BlockFi's core product.

Emerging players

• Aave: Aave is the leading decentralized lending protocol that competes with BlockFi on the lending side without taking principal risk via over-collateralized on-chain money markets. Important competitive context as DeFi protocols captured market share BlockFi ceded post-collapse.
• Compound: Compound is a major DeFi lending protocol that offers crypto-collateralized lending and borrowing similar to BlockFi's crypto-backed loan product, but in a non-custodial, algorithmic format.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/blockfi
• Facebookfacebook.com/BlockFi
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blockfi

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds12 records

Investors55 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments17 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BlockFi