Blockstream's unicorn status in jeopardy as it seeks fresh funding: Bloomberg
Quick Take
- Crypto infrastructure firm Blockstream is looking to raise fresh funds at a lower valuation.
- The startup is a crypto unicorn previously valued at $3.2 billion.
Crypto infrastructure firm Blockstream is looking for a fresh injection of capital at a significantly lower valuation than it raised at last year.
The startup raised $210 million in a Series B round led by Baillie Gifford and Bitfinex in August 2021, which brought its valuation to $3.2 billion.
Blockstream could now be valued at below $1 billion by investors, putting its crypto unicorn status in jeapordy, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Founded in 2014, the startup has raised a total of $299 million to date, according to data from Crunchbase. It provides infrastructure services to the crypto industry and recently partnered with fintech firm Block to launch a solar and battery-powered mining facility. It's also made a number of acquisitions over the years including SponDoolies-Tech and Adamant Capital.
Blockstream’s CEO Adam Back told Bloomberg the money from the funding round would be used to expand its capacity to host crypto miners. He declined to comment on the size of the round or the valuation.
“We rapidly sold out all of the capacity and have a big backlog of existing and new customers with miners seeking large-scale hosting with us,” he said.
Blockstream isn't the only crypto startup having to adjust its expectations as market conditions worsen following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Crypto unicorns Amber Group and Blockchain.com are also in the process of fundraising and are either raising at flat or lower valuations than in previous rounds, according to reports.
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