Valinor, a startup founded by former Blackstone private lending team members, has raised $25 million in a seed funding round led by Castle Island Ventures. The round also saw participation from Susquehanna's crypto division and the founders of Maven11 and TeraWulf. Valinor aims to transform private lending by utilizing blockchain technology to replace traditional loan processes with smart contracts, enhancing the efficiency of rules-driven loans. Co-founded by Connor Dougherty and Lily Yarborough, Valinor currently operates with a team of six employees and has already issued loans to select fintech and crypto companies. The company plans to expand its lending operations and focus on "real economy lending" scenarios, leveraging blockchain to streamline and automate lending processes.