Blockchain.com Raises New Funding at $14 Billion Valuation

Ivan Levingston and Olga Kharif, Bloomberg News

The Blockchain.com application on a smartphone arranged in Little Falls, New Jersey, U.S., on Saturday, May 22, 2021. Elon Musk continued to toy with the price of Bitcoin Monday, taking to Twitter to indicate support for what he says is an effort by miners to make their operations greener. Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Startup Blockchain.com said it raised new funding that values the company at about $14 billion, more than doubling its worth in a sign that cryptocurrency firms still enjoy the favor of investors in turbulent venture capital markets.

The financing round, which vaults Blockchain.com into the ranks of the most valuable crypto companies, was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with major participation from Baillie Gifford & Co, Blockchain.com said. Representatives for Lightspeed and Baillie Gifford didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Founded in 2011, Blockchain.com allows users to buy and store digital tokens such as Bitcoin and is led by Chief Executive Officer Peter Smith. In March 2021, the firm raised $300 million at a $5.2 billion valuation in a round that included Lightspeed and VY Capital.

Read more: Baillie Gifford Backs Crypto With $100 Million in Blockchain.com

The U.K. company’s single largest investment as of last April was from Edinburgh-based Baillie Gifford, which put $100 million into Blockchain.com.

Blockchain.com last year said it was moving its U.S. headquarters from New York to Miami, and is leasing a 22,000-square-foot (2,044-square-meter) office in Miami’s Wynwood arts district, and will eventually employ about 300 people in the building.

The company has 37 million verified users with 82 million wallets created, and more than $1 trillion transacted, according to its website.

(Updates with confirmation of backers from Blockchain.com.)