Coinspeaker
VC Firm Blockchain Capital Raises $580M for Two New Funds
Crypto venture capital (VC) firm Blockchain Capital has raised $580 million for two new funds. The raise is Blockchain Capital’s largest to date and one of the biggest crypto-focused raises this year.
We're thrilled to share the closing of 2 new funds – our 6th early stage fund and 1st opportunity fund.
Together, they total $580 million and serve to reinforce our commitment to leading the global transition to decentralized, blockchain-based systems. ↓https://t.co/Vr2uYnGlF7
— Blockchain Capital (@blockchaincap) September 18, 2023
The VC’s two new funds will focus on investment in startups working in decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, infrastructure, and consumer and social innovations.
The first fund will serve as VC firm Blockchain Capital’s sixth early-stage fund while the second is set to be its first “opportunity fund”. The early-stage fund has been allocated $380 million and will focus on startups and protocols in pre-seed and Series A rounds. The opportunity fund will focus on later-stage investments starting from Series B and has been allocated $200 million.
The firm will not limit itself to a specific sector in its investments. According to a press release, the goal of the funds is the harnessing of blockchain technology to “realign incentives, reestablish user trust and reengineer the social contract of our increasingly digital world”.
“The end game is to elevate personal empowerment by granting individuals control over their digital and financial lives through innovative blockchain-enabled applications and services. It’s this vision of a democratized and distributed future that guides our passion and investment decisions,” the VC stated in the press release.
In an emailed statement to CoinDesk, Blockchain Capital’s Head of Capital Formation Jason Di Piazza stated that most of the firm’s limited partners are traditional institutional investors such as university endowments, private foundations, financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds and US pension plans.
“Additionally, we have non-traditional, strategic investors who are category leaders within their specific sectors,” Di Piazza said, adding that “While these investors are generally more tactical in their fund commitments, the long-term nature of our funds lead to long-term partnerships that can help accelerate growth opportunities and improve competitive positioning for our fund’s companies and protocols.”
These partners include Visa and PayPal – leaders in the payments sector. The two took part in Blockchain Capital’s fifth early-stage fund in 2021 but are yet to commit to either of the latest ones.
