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The 50 Most Interesting Companies In Bitcoin's History: 36/50

BlockFi

Founded by Zac Prince, Flori Marquez 2017 · Lending · Failed
The Idea: Bitcoin yield - let users deposit BTC and earn interest (up to 9.5% APY) by lending their coins to institutional borrowers. Also offered crypto-backed loans.
Early Traction: BlockFi grew explosively during the 2020-2021 bull market. 9.5% yield on Bitcoin was an extraordinary pitch.
Peak Stats: ~$14.7B in investor assets. Nearly 400,000 US-based investors on the platform.
Status Today: Failed. Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 28, 2022, with 100,000+ creditors. Collapse triggered by customer asset rehypothecation and exposure to FTX and Alameda Research - BlockFi had lent to Alameda and had assets on the FTX platform. Zac Prince later joined Galaxy Digital to lead their retail platform.
Why It Matters:

BlockFi's collapse, alongside Celsius and Voyager, destroyed the 'Bitcoin yield' category and proved that unsecured lending against volatile collateral is inherently fragile.