The 50 Most Interesting Companies In Bitcoin's History: 7/50
Blockchain.info
The Idea: Blockchain.info set out to make Bitcoin's on-chain data legible to ordinary users, including tracking transactions, addresses, and network stats in a clean browser interface, and quickly expanded into a non-custodial wallet.
Early Traction: Roger Ver, then known as 'Bitcoin Jesus' and one of the most prolific early Bitcoin investors, came in as a major early backer and effectively co-founded the commercial entity alongside Reeves and Nicolas Cary, providing capital and credibility. By 2014 Blockchain.info was the most-used Bitcoin wallet in the world, crossing 1M wallets and landing a then-record $30.5M Series A led by Lightspeed and Mosaic with Richard Branson and Jim Breyer participating.
Peak Stats: After rebranding to Blockchain.com, the company hit a ~$14B valuation in a March 2022 round ($70M) led by Lightspeed. It claimed 80M+ verified users across 200 countries and processed over $1 trillion in transactions.
Status Today: Active. Blockchain.com has quietly downsized since the 2022 cycle peak, executing multiple rounds of layoffs, pulling back its institutional lending arm (which took losses from the Three Arrows Capital blowup). Roger Ver long since departed and became a polarizing figure through his Bitcoin Cash advocacy.
Why It Matters:
For most people who bought BTC between 2012 and 2017, their first wallet and first block explorer were both on blockchain.info. It proved that non-custodial self-custody could work at consumer scale, normalized the idea of reading the Bitcoin blockchain as a public utility.