Meanwhile, the first regulated life insurance company that operates entirely in bitcoin BTC$111,480.33, said on Tuesday it has raised $82 million to scale 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 firm shared in a press release with CoinDesk. The raise follows a $40 million round in April led by Fulgur Ventures and Framework, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was an early investor.
Founded in Bermuda, Meanwhile offers life insurance and annuity products denominated in BTC, allowing policyholders to save and transfer wealth in an asset with a fixed supply. The service aims to guard customers against inflation and currency devaluation over time, but policyholders also take on bitcoin’s price volatility. 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 held bitcoin through long-term lending to private credit markets, helping it meet claims obligations and maintain solvency standards similar to legacy insurers.
“Life insurers have always provided the steady, long-term capital that keeps financial markets moving,” Zac Townsend, CEO of Meanwhile, said in a statement. “We’re bringing that same role to Bitcoin — helping families save and protect wealth in BTC, while giving institutions new ways to earn returns and launch bitcoin-indexed products that are compliant and easy to scale.”
Meanwhile’s approach has found traction among both individuals and institutions, underscoring a surge in interest from customers seeking alternatives to dollar-based insurance and treasury products, the firm said. The company said its bitcoin assets under management has grown over 200% this year, outpacing bitcoin’s 34% year-to date run to record highs.
“At Haun Ventures, our thesis is that the Bitcoin economy needs more than trading platforms and DATs — it needs the core building blocks of capital markets,” said Chris Ahn, partner at Haun Ventures, in a statement. “Just as the U.S. economy was built on insurance, pensions, and mortgages, the Bitcoin economy will require its own long-duration financial products.”
The firm said the new capital will be used to partner with traditional insurers, grow internationally and develop new bitcoin-linked retirement tools that meet regulatory standards.