BlockFi Founder Zac Prince Returns to Lead Galaxy’s Retail Push

(Bloomberg) -- Galaxy Digital Inc. is courting everyday investors with a new banking platform that is being led by Zac Prince, the co-founder and former chief executive of BlockFi Inc., a retail-focused wealth management platform that filed for bankruptcy after the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. 

BlockFi was one of many digital-asset firms that failed during the 2022 crypto crash. The company rose to prominence by offering BlockFi Interest Accounts promising as much as 9.5% returns by lending clients’ tokens  to institutional borrowers, in addition to investing in equities and futures. Near its peak, BlockFi held roughly $14.7 billion worth of investor assets and counted nearly 400,000 US-based investors among its clients, according to a 2022 cease and desist order filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. 

The SEC ultimately charged BlockFi with failing to register its crypto lending product and found that BlockFi made false and misleading statements concerning the level of risk in its loan portfolio. BlockFi settled the charges, without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, and paused the interest account offering in the US. Less than a year later, FTX collapsed and BlockFi filed for bankruptcy. 

“I learned a ton from BlockFi,” Prince said in an interview. “My personal risk appetite and professional risk appetite is wildly different, much more conservative now, obviously based on the experiences that we had.”

Earlier this year, Galaxy Digital hired Prince to oversee its new platform offering retail customers high-yield checking accounts, crypto trading and commission-free stock trading. At the end of last year, Galaxy acquired the personal finance app Fierce to bolster its consumer ambitions and tapped him to run the new platform, Prince said. Galaxy was an early investor in BlockFi, allowing Prince to form a relationship with the founder and chief executive of Galaxy, Mike Novogratz, among other executives, he added. 

“We are preserving a lot of the great things BlockFi did in terms of bringing compelling products to the market,” Prince said, highlighting that BlockFi was the first mover in a couple of product areas that he says were well received. He cited that BlockFi was the first crypto company to have a phone number that customers could call to speak with US client service representatives. He added that working at Galaxy is “night and day in terms of the differences in the setup and the risk appetite and the regulatory structures of the businesses.” 

Galaxy employs roughly two dozen risk-focused employees, a team that has quadrupled in size over the past few years, according to a company spokesperson. “I’ve interacted with more risk folks at Galaxy than I think we had, you know, at our peak size at BlockFi,” Prince said. 

Founded in 2018 by Novogratz, Galaxy has grown into a digital asset giant by offering crypto trading, lending and advisory services to institutional clients. In the first six months of 2025, the firm reported a net loss of $264.7 million. Its push to court consumer clients come as retail brokerages like Robinhood Markets Inc. are wading deeper into both the banking and crypto sectors with their own deposit accounts and crypto trading products. 

Galaxy’s new cash account advertises 4% APY with the option to auto-invest the interest into crypto. That return is comparable with other high-yield offerings that have cropped up since the Federal Reserve ramped rates following the Covid-19 pandemic, but still far higher than the average 0.39% savings rate or 0.07% average checking account returns. The accounts are offered through a partnership with Cross River Bank and tout FDIC insurance up to the standard $250,000. 

The firm is also launching a crypto trading offering that will initially support Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Paxos Gold. Individuals can also open brokerage accounts equipped with fractional share trading and the option to lend eligible stocks on the platform. 

Galaxy is also rolling out a premium yield product promising 8% APY for accredited investors, as defined by the SEC. Each investment requires a $25,000 minimum and is capped at $1 million per investor with an initial $250 million total cap investment. The premium yield product is not FDIC-insured but is guaranteed by Galaxy Digital Holdings LP, a subsidiary of Galaxy Digital Inc., Prince stated. 

“Galaxy sees a really compelling business opportunity in the category of delivering financial services to retail in the US,” Prince said. He noted that recent developments including Galaxy’s recent NASDAQ listing and the associated brand awareness and advancements in regulatory clarity for the crypto market under President Trump’s administration made this a compelling time to launch a consumer platform. Additionally, the retail platform will provide additional distribution for Galaxy’s institutional businesses. 

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