A Letter from Our Founders

We don’t know what historians will say about 2020, but we know what we’ve lived through. It’s been a year of dramatic changes—a contentious election, a movement for social justice, a pandemic that has upended our understanding of the world. Our vocabulary has changed too. Words like “quarantine” and “lockdown” went from the idiomatic to the everyday, while bitcoin became a byword for wealth.

Throughout this chaotic, exhausting, and exhilarating year, crypto has been a haven, a port in the storm. Despite the great divides in our society, one thing we can agree on is the power of digital currency in helping people secure their future. BlockFi is proud to champion financial inclusivity and offer economic opportunities around the globe through this universally accepted technology. In 2020 alone, we distributed more than $50 million in monthly interest payments to our clients. We’ve spent the last 12 months moving closer to our goal, and our mission is only gaining momentum.

This past year, we announced a game-changing new product: the first-ever Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card. Cardholders will be able to earn 1.5% back in bitcoin on every transaction. It’s an intuitive and easy way for people to access a new asset class, and it’s going to fundamentally change the way credit card rewards work. BlockFi clients have an exclusive opportunity to join the waitlist and be first in line to receive the card. In 2021, we’ll be making it more widely available in the US.

We’ve also introduced major innovations to our suite of products and services. In 2020, we launched the BlockFi mobile app, empowering clients to take the BlockFi platform with them everywhere they go. We introduced ACH and wire payments, making it easier than ever to transfer funds. And we’ve added support for a wide range of currencies, including Litecoin (LTC), USD Coin (USDC), Tether (USDT) (USDT is available to non-U.S. clients only), and PAX Gold (PAXG), the first cryptocurrency that lets you directly invest in gold.

We’re not just expanding what we do for clients, either. These innovations are also helping us build new bridges with institutions. In 2020, BlockFi became the first crypto company to join Symphony, one of the top collaboration platforms for the world’s leading financial firms, introduced lending on tokenized assets to help investors become more capital efficient, and partnered with Fidelity Digital Assets to enable clients on Fidelity’s institutional-grade digital assets custody platform to pledge bitcoin as collateral in a transaction.

But what does this all mean for BlockFi and the future of crypto? In a word: inclusion. Every new product, feature, and partnership is intended to bring more people into the crypto community, giving access to a thriving financial market for those who didn’t—or couldn’t—participate in it before. Crypto is a big tent, and BlockFi is inviting the world inside.

That’s why we’ve spent so much time on education and knowledge-sharing this year. One of our core values is, “Transparency Builds Trust,” so we strive to teach first-time users (and even savvy investors) about the crypto market to help them understand what they’re investing in. That’s why we listen to each and every question from our community and we don’t keep anything behind a curtain—with BlockFi, what you see is what is what you get. And that’s why everyone who signs up with us is a valued client, not a “customer.” We take our responsibility to do right by them seriously.

It’s been a hard year, but BlockFi is not the kind of company that takes the easy route. Just like you, we adapt, we learn, and we strive to do better every day the sun rises. Our clients are the ones who make this mission possible, and we’re endlessly grateful that you’re with us on the journey. In 2021, we’re going to keep growing, keep listening, and keep working to bring that brighter horizon closer to your doorstep.

We hope you’re as excited as we are to see what comes next.

Sincerely,

Zac Prince & Flori Marquez