Zac Prince, the former chief executive and co-founder of collapsed crypto lender BlockFi Inc., is back in the digital asset industry as the head of Galaxy Digital’s new banking platform, Galaxy One. The move marks Prince’s return to a leadership role less than three years after BlockFi’s bankruptcy, which followed the implosion of crypto exchange FTX.
Galaxy hired Prince earlier this year to oversee Galaxy One, which launched today and allows users to earn yield on cash deposits and trade both cryptocurrencies and traditional equities. The appointment places Prince at the center of another effort to merge crypto services with mainstream finance but this time, under markedly different conditions.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Prince said his personal risk appetite is “more conservative” after what he experienced with BlockFi. He described Galaxy as “night and day in terms of the differences in the setup and the risk appetite and the regulatory structures of the businesses.”
BlockFi became a symbol of crypto’s lending boom and bust. The company drew users by offering interest accounts with returns as high as 9.5%, before collapsing when FTX’s failure left it short of liquidity. In its early days, the company raised funding from the top investment firms, including Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures as well as Galaxy Digital, which led a hefty $52.5 million round in July 2018.
In 2022, after the collapse of FTX, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged BlockFi with failing to register its lending product and misleading clients about risks. The firm later settled the case, paying $100 million in penalties.
For Galaxy, led by investor Mike Novogratz, Galaxy One represents an expansion into consumer-focused financial products. The platform’s mix of traditional and digital asset services aims to meet a market that has grown more cautious and more regulated since the excesses of the last crypto cycle.