Starr Insurance and Liberty Mutual are among a number of leading property and casualty (P&C) insurers that have helped NYDIG, provider of technology and investment solutions for Bitcoin, raise $100 million in additional growth capital.
These companies join existing investors such as New York Life and MassMutual.
Concurrently, NYDIG has announced the appointment of Mike Sapnar, Chief Executive Officer of Trans Re, as Global Head of Insurance Solutions.
In this new role Sapnar will oversee NYDIG’s insurance activities, while helping accelerate bitcoin-driven innovation in the global P&C industry.
Sapnar is joined by NYDIG’s US Head of Insurance Solutions Matt Carey, who will be focused on bitcoin-powered solutions for US-based life insurance and annuity providers.
Before his time at NYDIG he was co-founder and CEO of Blueprint Income, a leading online annuity marketplace recently acquired by MassMutual from Stone Ridge.
NYDIG is itself owned by Stone Ridge, a holding company that also controls Stone Ridge Asset Management, the alternative risk premia focused investment manager operating a number of mutual and private insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance fund strategies.
“The global P&C industry is huge, paying out over $1 trillion in claims annually. I am excited to welcome Starr and Liberty Mutual to NYDIG, as part of our expansion of bitcoin into new areas of insurance,” said Robert Gutmann, co-founder and CEO of NYDIG.
“The team and I are also thrilled to welcome Mike and Matt to NYDIG. Mike has been a close collaborator with Stone Ridge since 2014, primarily with our catastrophe reinsurance asset management franchise and our non-catastrophe reinsurer, Longtail Re.
“Mike’s more than 30 years of experience will help NYDIG lead the way in bringing bitcoin to the insurance industry.”
Hank Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Starr added, “We’ve been broadly and successfully investing with Ross and the Stone Ridge team across their various initiatives for years, including as a founding NYDIG investor in 2017.
“We are excited to continue our tradition of co-investment with them. We’ve also worked closely with Mike Sapnar for more than 25 years and congratulate Mike and NYDIG on his joining, and further propelling, the Stone Ridge ecosystem.”
Ross Stevens, CEO of Stone Ridge and Executive Chairman of NYDIG added, “Fiat depreciation causes inflation in fiat premiums, while collapsing the purchasing power of claims. We see a brighter bitcoin-powered future for the billions who depend on the insurance industry every year.
“With the addition of Mike Sapnar, a trusted partner for years, and now with Starr, Liberty Mutual, New York Life, and MassMutual as shareholders of NYDIG, we will be working tirelessly to enable new bitcoin-denominated products for global insureds.”
