Bitcoin Life Insurer Meanwhile Pulls In $37.5M as Wealth-Transfer Demand Grows

Meanwhile, the first life insurer licensed exclusively for bitcoin operations, has collected $37.5 million in fresh funding from its existing backers, according to the company.

Bain Capital Crypto headed the round, joined by Haun Ventures, Framework Ventures, Pantera Capital, Apollo, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures and Morgan Creek Digital. The influx puts Meanwhile’s total funding at more than $180 million. Sam Altman is also on the firm’s list of backers.

According to the company, the funding round follows a jump in demand for its bitcoin life insurance policies outside the US, notably in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, against a backdrop of wider macroeconomic instability.

In a statement, Zac Townsend, Meanwhile’s co-founder and CEO, said: “Wealthy families around the world already hold Bitcoin. What they haven’t had is a regulated way to pass it on.”

“Brokers came to us because their clients kept asking. This round lets us keep up with them,” Townsend added.

BTC Life 1-Pay, a single-premium whole life policy for high-net-worth clients outside the US, was launched by Meanwhile in early 2026. The product is the company’s second line of coverage, after BTC 10-Pay, which targets US taxpayers.

With BTC Life 1-Pay, a client makes one premium payment in bitcoin and is guaranteed a death benefit in bitcoin for life. The value of the policy accumulates in bitcoin, and after the first year the owner can borrow up to 90% of that amount, with no repayment timetable and no margin calls.

Individual policyholders, trusts or companies can own the policies, which the company argues makes them appropriate for succession and estate planning.

Since the launch, Meanwhile has signed 15 brokers serving affluent families, including in Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE and Switzerland. Its partners include Lioner, a group spanning insurance, trust and family-office services with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Zurich, and Apeiron Group, a high-net-worth life insurance marketplace.

“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,” said Justin Man, CEO of Apeiron Group.

Meanwhile reported that its net long-term underwriting income has already surpassed the total for last year and is expected to more than double in 2026. Specific figures were not released.

“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.”

The company’s operating entity, Meanwhile Insurance Bitcoin (Bermuda) Limited, is the holder of the first Class IILT license issued by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. The license was issued in July 2024, after two years in the regulator’s sandbox.

The insurer keeps its balance sheet, reserves and audited financial statements entirely in bitcoin. Policyholder bitcoin is kept at regulated institutional custodians.