Bitcoin-denominated life insurer launched in Bermuda

The first and only life insurer entirely denominated in a crypto currency has been formed in Bermuda.

Meanwhile said it has raised $19 million across two seed finance rounds, enabling it to be licensed and regulated as an life insurance company by the Bermuda Monetary Authority, and to hire its initial team and launch its first product – Bitcoin (BTC)-denominated whole life insurance
Meanwhile, which said it also uses artificial intelligence to build a full stack life insurance company.

The first round of seed funding was co-led by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Lachy Groom, previous head of Stripe issuing, while the second was led by Gradient Ventures (Google).

Zac Townsend (pictured), CEO of Meanwhile, said: “As one of the few innovations in money in the last century, Bitcoin is on track to become a global store of value and functional currency.

“When you combine that with artificial intelligence, we see the potential to build a full-stack life insurance company with the aim to reach over a billion people globally.

"To start, it makes perfect sense for long-term holders of BTC to invest in life insurance denominated in that asset and to enable a percentage of their BTC holdings to become active.”

By harnessing the power of AI and operating entirely in digital assets, Meanwhile said it can bring a frictionless offering to life insurance, eliminating lengthy manual processes.

Meanwhile said; "Utilising AI-powered underwriting, claims, and operations, Max Gasner, CTO and co-founder, and his team are building a highly-efficient end-to-end insurance system reducing manual labor and promoting transparency."

“The insurance sector is often regarded as inefficient and adverse to new technologies, and frankly, that is true in many cases,” said Jon Soberg, managing partner of backer MS&AD Ventures. “Meanwhile flips this perception on its head, uniting both blockchain and AI to create a truly one-of-a-kind, dynamic life insurance program. We are delighted to participate in this funding round and look forward to seeing the unique financial products Meanwhile will unveil.”

Other backers include Santander-backed Muoro Capital, MS&AD Insurance Group’s venture arm, and Hudson Structured Capital Management. Additional angel investors include Parker Conrad, Dylan Field, Nick Schrock, 6th Man Ventures, Sam Blond of Founders Fund, Lauren Kolodny of Acrew, and Marc Bhavaga of General Catalyst.