Zach Prince, the former CEO and co-founder of failed cryptocurrency lender BlockFi, has returned to the digital asset industry as head of Galaxy Digital's new banking platform, GalaxyOne. The move marks Prince's return to a leadership role less than three years after BlockFi's bankruptcy following the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Galaxy hired Prince to oversee Galaxy One earlier this year. Galaxy One launched today, allowing users to earn yield on their cash deposits and trade both cryptocurrencies and traditional stocks. The appointment puts Prince at the center of a new effort to blend crypto services with mainstream finance, but this time under markedly different conditions.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Prince said his personal risk appetite has become “more conservative” after his experience with BlockFi. He described the Galaxy as “night and day different in terms of different corporate structures, different risk appetites, different regulatory structures.”
BlockFi has become a symbol of the boom and bust of crypto lending. The company attracted users by offering interest rate accounts with yields as high as 9.5% until it went bankrupt due to a lack of liquidity following the failure of FTX. In its early days, the company raised funding from top investment firms including Peter Thiel's Valor Ventures and Galaxy Digital, which led a massive $52.5 million round in July 2018.
In 2022, after the collapse of FTX, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused BlockFi of failing to register its lending products and misleading customers about risks. The company later settled the lawsuit and paid $100 million in fines.
For Galaxy, led by investor Mike Novogratz, Galaxy One marks an expansion into consumer-focused financial products. The platform, which combines traditional and digital asset services, aims to cater to a market that has become more cautious and more regulated since the excesses of the last cryptocurrency cycle.
