Can’t say it currently, as I’m away till next Thursday, but since the device was last flashed about a year ago, that wasn’t the latest one.
The Blynk.begin() is a blocking function (actually you already found it by yourself) and actually I’m not using it. I’ve put here on the forum other method which is working exactly in the device I mentioned here (as this is the only one which uses the ESP as a shield). This is how it goes for me: