The fintech entrepreneur who cofounded the world’s first bitcoin life insurer in Bermuda had a lot of explaining to do when appearing Thursday on the Technology Business Programming Network podcast with the hosts, Jordi Hays and John Coogan.

Zac Townsend, cofounder and chief executive of Meanwhile, called the Bermuda market the world's risk capital, while introducing the hosts to his company and how he intends to grow it into the largest life insurer in the world.

“The moment I realised bitcoin could outlast inflation, I was hooked,” Mr Townsend once said.

The company earlier this year announced a $40 million capital raise and just followed it up with another funding round that netted $82 million.

He said that after the first round, top life insurance and retirement companies wanted to collaborate to take the offering to wider markets, telling Meanwhile that it was one of the most important companies in crypto and they wanted to invest.

He said: “I told them for a large enough cheque, they can do anything.”

The latest round was co-led by Bain Capital Crypto and Haun Ventures with Pantera Capital, and additional participation from Apollo, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures and Stillmark.

Meanwhile's bitcoin assets under management growth is over 200 per cent, according to the company.

Mr Townsend explained on the podcast that the life insurance market represented about 3 per cent of global gross domestic product.

He told the podcasters: “You’ve probably never talked about it once on the show, but it is gigantic.

“It’s not just about life insurance; it's about retirement savings; it's about protecting your family when you die; and what also happens to your family when you live longer than you are supposed to. That’s deferred annuities, its insurance funds, its all sorts of savings products.

“It’s a huge, huge market,” he added.

His company is entirely denominated in bitcoin, which he says is better for the long term policyholder.

He said: “There are tax advantages, and estate and tax planning reasons to do that.

“If I bought a life insurance policy in 2018 when my son was born, I’ve seen the purchasing power of that dollar policy go down 25 to 30 per cent. If I had done that in bitcoin, I’d have seen the purchasing power go up hundreds of per cent.

“We want to bring that not just to every one in America. If you are a middle-class person in Argentina, you don’t save for your retirement because you are going to live longer than the Argentinian peso. That person should save in bitcoin.

But Mr Hayes and Mr Coogan were trying to wrap their heads around the Bermuda angle.

“Give us the Bermuda lore. I've only been there on vacation,” said Mr. Hayes.

Mr Townsend replied: “The fundamental history is that Bermuda used to be a tourist destination when you had to get on a boat to go to your vacation spot. But once there were aeroplanes, you're like, I'm going to go to the Bahamas or I'm going to go to Jamaica. Bermuda is actually way out in the middle of nowhere in the ocean, and it's just not as hot as you'd like.”

“And it's the Bermuda Triangle out there,” remarked Mr Hayes and Mr Coogan amid laughter.

Mr Townsend explained: “They had some really enterprising people in the 1950s and 1960s who decided to make it an offshore financial hub. And now it is the insurance capital of the world.

“So I'm surprised you went there on vacation because there are about as many actuaries, lawyers and accountants on Bermuda as there are Bermudians.

“You walk around and it's Munich Re, Chubb, Swiss Re. It's like huge financial institutions. And I guess the next huge financial institution there is going to be Meanwhile.”

“Is the Bermuda triangle fake news?” asked Mr Coogan.

“I’m going to call it fake news,” replied Mr Townsend. “But Bermuda has this really crazy history. They’ve done a lot of things.

“They ran a ruthless salt monopoly over the Caribbean. They were gun runners in the [American] Civil War. They ran a penal colony. They have found ways to be innovative for hundreds of years.”