BlockFi Approached With Ledn-Led Funding Offer Amid FTX Acquisition Talks: Report

Roughed-up cryptocurrency lender BlockFi – reportedly in talks over a sale to Sam Bankman-Fried-led FTX – has been approached with a competing deal by a group that includes crypto lending peer Ledn, Bloomberg reported late Thursday evening.

Where FTX’s reported offer is for a full acquisition, Ledn’s involves a fresh funding round, according to the report, which cited people with knowledge of the matter. This funding would supposedly be for up to $400 million, and include $50 million in equity, giving Ledn a sizable ownership stake in BlockFi.

Ledn’s CEO Adam Reeds said in a statement to Bloomberg: “Ledn is currently evaluating a number of opportunities to broaden its leadership in digital asset lending and beyond … At the moment, we cannot share any additional details.”

BlockFi did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.

BlockFi CEO Zac Prince on Thursday afternoon took to Twitter to vehemently deny news first reported by CNBC that his company had agreed to a sale to FTX for just $25 million. The lender as recently as early June was set to close a funding round valuing it at $1 billion – even that a massive decline from its $3 billion valuation in March 2021.

BlockFi, like fellow crypto lenders, has been hit hard by sharp downturn in the crypto market throughout 2022 that turned into a full panic in June. Prince announced on June 13 that the firm would be trimming roughly a fifth of its workforce, equating to around 170 people.