Crypto VC Firm Blockchain Capital Raises $580M for 2 New Funds

Blockchain Capital, a crypto-focused investment firm, has defied the depressed market to raise $580 million for two new funds.

The funding is split between $380 million for its sixth early-stage fund, which will focus on newer companies and protocols in pre-seed and Series A rounds, and $200 million for its opportunities fund, which will target late-stage investments from Series B onward.

The amount raised suggests there remains an appetite for investment, despite the relatively subdued state of the digital asset market for much of the past year. After the crypto market declined throughout much of 2022, coming to a head with the collapse of FTX in November, digital assets have struggled to escape a narrow trading range in recent months after a robust start to 2023. Bitcoin (BTC), for example, has spent almost the entire last six months locked in the $25,000-$30,000 range.

Most of Blockchain Capital's limited partners are traditional institutional investors, including university endowments, private foundations, financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds and U.S. pension plans, the firm's head of capital formation Jason Di Piazza told CoinDesk in an emailed statement.

"Additionally, we have non-traditional, strategic investors who are category leaders within their specific sectors," Di Piazza said. "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 include payment giants Visa and PayPal who joined Blockchain Capital's fifth early-stage fund in 2021. They have yet to commit to either of the new ones, the firm told CoinDesk.

Among the recent funding rounds that Blockchain Capital has led are a $115 million Series C into Worldcoin developer Tools for Humanity and a $40 million Series A into crypto infrastructure provider RISC Zero.

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