The funding round was led by Valar Ventures, an early-stage venture-capital company led by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. : New York-based BlockFi, a provider of crypto-backed lending products, has raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Valar Ventures, with participation from a host of other investors. Valar is an early-stage venture-capital company led by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, who has been an active investor in fintech over recent years. The billionaire was an early investor in the UK money-transfer business TransferWise, as well as backing the German fintech startups N26 and Deposit Solutions.