Bitcoin life insurer Meanwhile raises $37.5 million, lifting total funding above $180 million

Meanwhile, a Bermuda life insurer that collects premiums and pays benefits in bitcoin, has raised $37.5 million in new funding from its existing investors. The company said in an Oct. 8 press release distributed through Business Wire that Bain Capital Crypto led the round. Meanwhile has now raised more than $180 million in total.

Bain Capital Crypto leads again

Haun Ventures, Framework Ventures, Pantera Capital, Apollo, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures and Morgan Creek Digital also took part, all of them existing investors. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is also a backer, and the company's profile lists Japanese insurance group MS&AD and Fulgur Ventures among its investors.

"Meanwhile owns every layer of a regulated life insurer and builds it like an AI-enabled startup," said Stefan Cohen, a partner at Bain Capital Crypto. "The growth this year proves the model, and we're glad to back them again."

A year earlier, on Oct. 7, 2025, Meanwhile raised $82 million in a round co-led by Haun Ventures and Bain Capital Crypto. Earlier that year it also closed a $40 million Series A co-led by Framework Ventures and Fulgur Ventures. The Block put the company's total funding at $143 million at the time. CEO Zac Townsend told The Block then that the bitcoin the company manages had grown from about 220 BTC to more than 660 BTC in a year.

One premium in, a death benefit paid in bitcoin

The product behind the raise is BTC Life 1-Pay, launched in early 2026. It is a single-premium whole life policy for high-net-worth clients outside the United States: the client pays one premium in bitcoin and receives a guaranteed death benefit in bitcoin for life. The policy's value grows in bitcoin terms, and after the first year the owner can borrow up to 90% of it. The company said the loans carry no repayment schedule and no margin calls, meaning no demand for extra collateral if the value falls.

Policies can be owned by individuals, trusts or companies, which the company said makes them a fit for succession and estate planning. Its first product line, BTC 10-Pay, is designed for U.S. taxpayers and spreads premiums over 10 years.

Fifteen brokers from Singapore to Switzerland

Meanwhile said international demand for its policies has surged, particularly in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Since launch it has signed 15 brokers serving wealthy families, including in Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE and Switzerland. They include Lioner, which has offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Zurich, and Apeiron Group, a marketplace for high-net-worth life insurance.

"Wealthy families around the world already hold Bitcoin. What they haven't had is a regulated way to pass it on."

Zac Townsend, co-founder and CEO of Meanwhile

The company said net long-term underwriting income this year has already passed last year's total and is on track to more than double in 2026. Its insurance unit, Meanwhile Insurance Bitcoin (Bermuda) Limited, received a Class IILT license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) in July 2024 after two years in the regulator's sandbox, the first such license the BMA has granted. Its balance sheet, reserves and audited financial statements are all denominated in bitcoin, and policyholder bitcoin is held with regulated institutional custodians. The license covers business with Sophisticated Persons only, and the company said its products are not available in all jurisdictions.

Bitcoin at 112.77 million won, kimchi premium at 1.5%

As of Oct. 10 at 8:31 p.m. KST, bitcoin traded at 112.77 million won on Upbit's Korean won market. Binance quoted $82,810 at the same time, putting the kimchi premium (the gap between prices on Korean exchanges and global markets) at about 1.5% on Upbit.