Zac Townsend, co-founder and CEO of crypto insurance company Meanwhile, believes there is a pool of crypto enthusiasts who want to pay for their life insurance policy in Bitcoin—investors are betting that he’s right.
Meanwhile just closed a $40 million Series A led by Framework Ventures and Fulgur Ventures with participation from the founder of crypto bank Xapo, Wences Casares, on Thursday. This round values Meanwhile at $190 million, Townsend told Fortune, nearly double what it was valued during its most recent funding round in 2022.
Meanwhile’s life insurance policies function similarly to average life insurance. The policyholder pays a monthly premium which is calculated by an actuary. However, instead of paying out of a bank account or using a check, clients pay in Bitcoin from their crypto wallet. When a policyholder dies, their family will receive the value of the claim in Bitcoin.
Townsend says life insurance is integral to any functioning society because it protects families from financial devastation in the event of an untimely death. But while most life insurance policies use dollars or another type of fiat-currency, Meanwhile operates in Bitcoin in an attempt to maximize returns and limit the risk of inflation over the course of a client’s lifetime, he said.
“It may feel like the dollar is not as sure a store of value as it might have been in the past,” Townsend says, highlighting that inflation decreases the value of the dollar over time. “So the idea of storing some value for your kids... in this global, censorship-resistant, decentralized, uncontrollable currency in Bitcoin is very attractive.”
Some people might argue that it is risky to take out a life insurance policy in Bitcoin because the currency’s price is extremely volatile, often gaining or losing thousands of dollars within the span of a few hours. However, Townsend says that, while Bitcoin can be unpredictable in the short-term, it has historically provided returns in the long-term.
The company produces revenue by lending out clients’ Bitcoin to large financial institutions like crypto exchanges and market makers over the course of one to two years, Townsend says. The company expects to make a 3% return on these loans, he says, which will partially be used to pay out clients and the rest is used to fund expenses.
Meanwhile is not the only company that offers crypto holders options for financial planning. BitcoinIRA is a company that allows people to access Bitcoin investment in their retirement accounts.
Townsend says Meanwhile will use the money raised in this round to expand globally and make sure their products are compliant with regulations.
Meanwhile’s Series A follows a $20.5 million raise from 2022 led by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Lachy Groom, one of the first employees at payments company Stripe.
