Sam Altman-Backed Bitcoin Life Insurer Meanwhile Raises $37.5M as Crypto Insurance Market Grows

Meanwhile, a life insurer licensed to operate entirely in bitcoin, has raised $37.5 million in a funding round led by Bain Capital Crypto, the company said Thursday. The round included participation from Haun Ventures, Framework Ventures, Pantera Capital, Apollo, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, and Morgan Creek Digital.

The Bermuda-based company, whose backers include OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has now raised more than $180 million in total.

The funding follows increased international demand for Meanwhile’s bitcoin-denominated life insurance policies, particularly in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, amid broader macroeconomic instability, the company said.

“Wealthy families around the world already hold Bitcoin. What they haven’t had is a regulated way to pass it on,” Zac Townsend, Meanwhile’s co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. “Brokers came to us because their clients kept asking. This round lets us keep up with them.”

**International Expansion with Bitcoin-Priced Policies**

Meanwhile’s BTC Life 1-Pay, launched in early 2026, is a single-premium whole life policy for high-net-worth clients outside the United States. The policy requires a single premium paid in bitcoin and provides a guaranteed death benefit in the cryptocurrency. Policyholders can borrow up to 90% of the policy’s value after the first year, without a repayment schedule or margin calls.

The company’s earlier BTC 10-Pay product was developed specifically for U.S. taxpayers.

Since launching the international product, Meanwhile has signed 15 brokers serving wealthy families in Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Switzerland. Partners include Lioner, an insurance and wealth management group with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Zurich, and Apeiron Group, which operates a marketplace for high-net-worth life insurance.

“As Bitcoin and other digital assets become part of the wealth landscape, high-net-worth individuals with international interests and ties are thinking more broadly about how they manage wealth for the future,” Lioner Partner Giorgio Jeni said in a statement.

“We’re reaching a turning point where more high-net-worth clients are asking not just how to hold bitcoin and digital assets, but how to plan around them and ultimately transfer that wealth to the next generation,” Apeiron Group CEO Justin Man added.

**Growth Metrics and Regulatory Standing**

Meanwhile reported 1,183 bitcoin in total assets at the end of 2025, up more than fivefold from a year earlier, according to audited figures released in April. The company also reported 759 bitcoin in statutory capital and surplus.

The firm said its net long-term underwriting income has already exceeded the total recorded last year and is on track to more than double in 2026. It did not provide an absolute figure.

“Meanwhile owns every layer of a regulated life insurer and builds it like an AI-enabled startup,” Bain Capital Crypto Partner Stefan Cohen said. “The growth this year proves the model.”

Meanwhile received its Class IILT license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority in July 2024 after two years in the regulator’s sandbox. The company keeps its balance sheet, reserves, and audited financial statements denominated in bitcoin, while regulated institutional custodians hold policyholder funds.

The latest funding round follows an $82 million raise in October 2025, co-led by Bain Capital Crypto and Haun Ventures, and a $40 million Series A in April of that year.

The expansion comes as broader demand for crypto-linked insurance products rises. Cointelegraph reported in June that global insurance broker and risk advisory firm WTW had acquired crypto insurance platform Redefind and launched a digital asset protection service covering forensic investigations, asset tracing, and legal recovery after theft or loss.