Key Takeaways
- Birch Hill seed round: The onchain credit startup raised $4 million led by Multicoin Capital, with ParaFi Capital, Castle Island Ventures and Nascent, bringing total funding to $6.5 million, Decrypt reported.
- What it does now: Birch Hill's Vaults arm is an official curator on Morpho, where it assesses credit and sets risk terms for lending vaults.
- What it plans: Its Enterprise unit has applied to FINRA to become a broker-dealer, a step toward securitizing U.S. multifamily, farm and energy loans onchain.
- By WYDE's arithmetic: The seed round is 1.6 times the $2.5 million pre-seed, and three of its four investors also backed that earlier round.
Birch Hill, an onchain credit startup founded by Goldman Sachs and BlackRock alumni, said on October 28, 2026 that it closed a $4 million seed round led by Multicoin Capital, Decrypt reported. ParaFi Capital, Castle Island Ventures and Nascent joined the round, which brings Birch Hill's total funding to $6.5 million.
Birch Hill Seed Round and Its Pre-Seed Backers
Multicoin Capital's website lists the investment. The seed round follows a $2.5 million pre-seed that ParaFi Capital and Castle Island Ventures co-led, with Nascent, FalconX Ventures, JST Digital and Flowdesk joining, The Block reported in February. That round was a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE), a contract that converts into shares at a later financing, and the company did not disclose a valuation.
By WYDE's arithmetic, the seed round is 1.6 times the pre-seed and 61.5% of the $6.5 million raised to date. Three of its four investors, ParaFi, Castle Island and Nascent, also backed the pre-seed. Multicoin is the new name.
"Private credit is a fragmented, relationship-driven market, which makes it one of the clearest opportunities to build new financial infrastructure onchain," said Shayon Sengupta, general partner and co-head of venture at Multicoin.
Morpho Vaults Now, FINRA and Onchain Farm and Apartment Loans Next
Birch Hill's Vaults arm is an official curator on Morpho, an onchain lending protocol, where it assesses credit and sets risk parameters for vaults and markets, Decrypt reported. Its Enterprise unit, run by Birch Hill Digital Securities LLC, has applied to FINRA, the self-regulatory body for broker-dealers, and is not yet a member, the company's website says. Membership would let it place private credit offerings with verified accredited investors.
Longer term, Birch Hill plans to securitize pools of U.S. multifamily, agriculture and energy loans to be held onchain within U.S. rules, and it met the SEC's Crypto Task Force in August as part of that effort, Decrypt reported. Securitizing a loan pool means selling claims on its payments as securities. "Loan originators need new sources of capital, and onchain lenders need credit they can trust," chief executive Bhavin Vaid said in a statement.
The Goldman Sachs and BlackRock Alumni Behind Birch Hill
Vaid is a former Goldman Sachs analyst, and co-founder and chief operating officer Connor Flanagan spent more than four years at BlackRock, CryptoBriefing reported. The eight-person team includes three hires from Yearn, among them Brad Schlagel, who led development of Yearn v3, and one from Gauntlet. None of the reports gives a valuation for the seed round.
Related WYDE coverage: Coinbase Adds Fixed-Rate Bitcoin-Backed Loans Through Morpho Midnight and The US Says Stockpile Food. It Still Has No Plan for Its $720 Million to Fight Global Hunger.
People Also Ask
Who invested in Birch Hill's $4 million seed round?
Multicoin Capital led Birch Hill's $4 million seed round, and ParaFi Capital, Castle Island Ventures and Nascent joined it, Decrypt reported. The round brings Birch Hill's total funding to $6.5 million.
What does Birch Hill do?
Birch Hill curates lending vaults on Morpho, an onchain lending protocol, and plans to securitize U.S. multifamily, agriculture and energy loans to be held onchain, according to Decrypt.
Is Birch Hill registered with FINRA?
Not yet. Birch Hill Digital Securities LLC, which runs the company's Enterprise unit, has applied to FINRA to become a broker-dealer and is not yet a FINRA member, the company's website says.
Who runs Birch Hill?
Bhavin Vaid, a former Goldman Sachs analyst, is Birch Hill's chief executive. Connor Flanagan, its co-founder and chief operating officer, spent more than four years at BlackRock, CryptoBriefing reported.
Sources: Decrypt, CryptoBriefing, The Block, Multicoin Capital, Birch Hill.