Meanwhile, the first regulated life insurance company that operates entirely in bitcoin announced Tuesday that it had raised $82 million to develop its savings and retirement products that aim to protect against inflation and currency devaluation.
The funding round was co-led by Bain Capital Crypto and Haun Ventures, with participation from Pantera Capital, Apollo, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures and Stillmark, the company shared in a press release with CoinDesk. The raise follows a $40 million round led in April by Fulgur Ventures and Framework, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was an early investor.
Founded in Bermuda, While offers BTC-denominated life insurance and annuity products, allowing policyholders to save and transfer wealth into a fixed supply asset. The service aims to protect customers against inflation and currency devaluation over time, but policyholders also assume the volatility of Bitcoin prices. Its products are regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority and designed to mirror traditional long-term financial tools, but in BTC.
The company earns returns on bitcoin held through long-term loans in private credit markets, which helps it meet its claims obligations and maintain solvency standards similar to those of traditional insurers.
“Life insurers have always provided the stable, long-term capital that keeps financial markets moving,” Zac Townsend, CEO of Meanwhile, said in a statement. “We see the same role for Bitcoin: helping families save and protect their BTC wealth, while providing institutions with new ways to generate returns and launch Bitcoin-indexed products that are compliant and easy to scale.”
Meanwhile, the approach taken has found traction with individuals and institutions, highlighting a surge in interest from customers seeking alternatives to dollar-based insurance and treasury products, the company said. The company said its Bitcoin assets under management have grown more than 200% this year, surpassing Bitcoin’s 34% year-to-date gain to reach record levels.
“At Haun Ventures, our thesis is that the Bitcoin economy needs more than trading platforms and DATs: it needs the building blocks of capital markets,” Chris Ahn, partner at Haun Ventures, said in a statement. “Just as the US economy was built on insurance, pensions and mortgages, the Bitcoin economy will need its own financial products in the long term.”
The company said the new capital would be used to partner with traditional insurers, expand internationally, and develop new Bitcoin-related retirement tools that meet regulatory standards.
