Early Tesla investor Baillie Gifford invests $100M in Blockchain.com

Baillie Gifford, a 110 year-old asset management firm known for its early bets on firms like Tesla, has invested $100 million in major cryptocurrency wallet service Blockchain.com.

Blockchain.com co-founder and CEO Peter Smith announced Wednesday that Baillie Gifford’s contribution to its $300 million funding round in March has become the largest single investment in the company so far. Smith stated that Baillie Gifford’s participation in the round marked “one of their first investments in a crypto company.”

“It’s also a validation that a balanced and diversified retail/institutional business has incredible growth potential in the coming years,” the CEO wrote.

With over $445 billion in assets under management, Baillie Gifford has emerged as a major tech investor, gaining nearly $28 billion by betting early on Tesla and Alibaba, and pharmaceutical company Moderna. One of the largest outside Tesla investors, Baillie Gifford reaped a $16 billion profit from its Tesla investment alone as of August 2020. The company is also known for backing companies like Google, Amazon and Airbnb.

Baillie Gifford’s bet on Blockchain.com comes amid increasing investor attention to the company and the wider crypto industry as well. United Kingdom-based Blockchain.com is one of the biggest fundraisers this year, securing $420 million in two funding rounds in February and March and bringing the firm to a $5.2-billion valuation.

According to data from business analytics firm CB Insights, crypto and blockchain firms including Blockchain.com, BlockFi and Dapper Labs received more funding in the first quarter of 2021 than over the entire course of 2020.