Sam Altman-Backed Bitcoin Insurer Raises $37.5M; Ledger Probes $72M+ Crypto Theft

Meanwhile, the Bermuda-based Bitcoin-native life insurer backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has closed $37.5 million in new funding, bringing total financing past $180 million. Bain Capital Crypto led the round, with participation from Haun Ventures, Framework Ventures, Pantera Capital, Apollo, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, and Morgan Creek Digital. The capital comes amid surging international demand for Meanwhile's Bitcoin-denominated life insurance policies, particularly from wealthy families in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East seeking a regulated vehicle to pass on BTC holdings amid broader macro instability. "Wealthy families around the world already hold Bitcoin. What they haven't had is a regulated way to pass it on," said co-founder and CEO Zac Townsend.

Hardware wallet maker Ledger is investigating suspected cryptocurrency losses tied to an authorized Southeast Asian reseller, CryptoBilis, which operates in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Ledger has instructed CryptoBilis to suspend all sales and shipments and urged customers who purchased devices in the past 90 days not to activate them. Users with already-initialized devices have been advised to migrate holdings to a new Ledger wallet generated with a fresh recovery phrase. Onchain investigator tanuki42 has flagged eight addresses allegedly linked to more than $72 million in stolen funds, while researcher Specter estimated total losses exceeding $86 million across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tron. Security Alliance (SEAL) has urged potential victims whose assets reached the flagged addresses to come forward.

Separately, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) opened a consultation seeking industry feedback on the use of tokenized collateral in central clearinghouses, a step that could shape how tokenized assets are integrated into EU market infrastructure. The move signals regulators' growing attention to the operational and prudential risks of bringing blockchain-based collateral into traditional clearing frameworks.