Venture Capital
SA Company Wins $50-Million in Africa’s “Largest-Ever” Crypto Raise
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Sequoia Capital launches crypto fund worth up to $600M
American venture capital firm Sequoia Capital has launched a new cryptocurrency fund as part of its ongoing efforts to bootstrap the next generation of promising crypto-focused startups. Bloomberg reported Thursday that Sequoia is allocating up to $600 million towards the new sector-specific fund. Shaun Maguire, a partner at Sequoia, described crypto as a “megatrend over the next 20 years” and called it “the future of money.” The new crypto fund is part of three new sub-funds that were introduced by Sequoia on Thursday. The new funds, which operate under the Sequoia Capital Fund, will rely on capital that’s already committed by the firm’s limited partners. Sequoia is no stranger to the cryptocurrency market, having financed dozens of projects in the space. As Cointelegraph reported, Sequoi...
Blockchain startups grow as global VC funding generated $25.2B in 2021
Last year was impressive for blockchain startups, as research from CB Insights found that venture capital funding reached new heights during every quarter of 2021. According to CB Insights’ “State Of Blockchain 2021” report, $25.2 billion worth of venture capital funding went to global blockchain startups last year, demonstrating a 713% increase from $3.1 billion in 2020. The report also found that the United States led the greatest amount of funding deals in Q4 of last year, generating $6.26 billion for 157 deals. The document notes that global growth was driven by increasing consumer and institutional demand for crypto-related products and services. VC funding focused on crypto adoption Chris Bendtsen, a senior analyst at CB Insights, told Cointelegraph that CB Insights’ report con...
Solana ecosystem wallet Phantom raises $109M
Software wallet and browser extension Phantom has raised $109 million in Series B financing to continue expanding its cross-platform capabilities beyond Solana. The funding round was led by Paradigm, an investment firm focused on cryptocurrency and Web3 companies. Other venture firms to have supported Phantom in prior funding deals include Andreessen Horowitz, Jump Capital and Variant Fund. According to Phantom, the funding will help enhance the wallet’s technical capabilities, such as better app discovery, as well as allow the company to hire additional employees. In addition to its funding round, Phantom also announced Monday that its mobile app is now available for iOS devices. Phantom currently boasts of over 2 million monthly active users, having doubled its user count in less t...
$75M Blockchain Founders Fund II backs portfolio of P2E and Web3 projects
Singapore-based Blockchain Founders Fund has launched a new venture capital fund to support emerging projects in the cryptocurrency, metaverse and Web3 sectors, offering further evidence that investors are still keen to back major growth trends in the digital asset market. Blockchain Founders Fund II, also known as BFF II, has raised $75 million from various investors across the blockchain and crypto industry, including NEO Global Capital, Appworks, Baksh Capital, Octava and The Sandbox chief operating officer Sebastien Borget. BFF II has already deployed capital across 11 projects, including a layer-two derivatives exchange, several play-to-earn games and a DeFi protocol. BFF II is focused primarily on crypto, blockchain, Web3 and metaverse projects. The fund is also prepared to off...
Tom Brady’s NFT platform Autograph raises $170M to scale operations
The nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace Autograph co-founded by Super Bowl champion Tom Brady has announced it closed on a $170 million funding round. In a Wednesday announcement, Autograph said Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z, and VC firm Kleiner Perkin co-led the $170-million Series B round with contributions from crypto investor Katie Haun’s firm, Nicole Quinn of Lightspeed Venture Partners, and San Francisco-based venture firm 01A. The company said it planned to use the funds to scale its NFT technology and hinted at a series of partnerships aimed at expanding its user base. In addition to the funding round, Haun, a16z general partner Arianna Simpson, and Kleiner Perkins partner Ilya Fushman will join Autograph’s board of directors, with a16z general partner Chris Dixon joining the firm’s...
a16z, Google lead $20M investment in Africa Web3 game publisher Carry1st
Web3 and social games publisher Carry1st has raised $20 million in Series A funding to further expand product development in Africa — a continent that could become the premier hub for the gaming industry over the next decade. The investment round was led by Silicon Valley venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, which has been highly active in the blockchain space, with additional participation from Avenir and Google-parent Alphabet. Carry1st’s existing backers, including Riot Games, Konvoy Ventures, Raine Ventures and TTV Capital, also participated in the investment round. The cash injection will be used by Carry1st to expand its content portfolio, grow its in-house development team and spearhead a new growth strategy to attract tens of millions of new users. A key pillar of its growth str...
Former CFTC chair Giancarlo joins CoinFund as an adviser
Blockchain investment firm CoinFund has appointed former United States commodities regulator J. Christopher Giancarlo as a strategic adviser — a move that should help the Brooklyn-based company navigate the complex, ever-changing regulatory requirements in its home country. Often referred to as “Crypto Dad” by the blockchain community for his support of digital assets, Giancarlo was nominated as commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 2014. In January 2017, he became the agency’s acting chair before assuming the role full-time in August of the same year. He held the position until July 2019. CoinFund president Christopher Perkins described Giancarlo as a “driving force” of innovation at the CFTC, especially for advocating “thoughtful crypto policy in the Un...
OpenSea raises $300M for encrypted digital marketplace
The nonfungible token (NFT) market is gaining momentum as the next frontier in collectibles, gaming and the metaverse. To accelerate this vision, OpenSea announced on Tuesday that it has secured $300 million in a Series C funding led by Coatue and Paradigm. OpenSea is a digital market based on the Wyvern Protocol, which comprises custom-built Ethereum smart contracts that are expressly created for buying and selling unique digital assets. The marketplace was established in 2018. With the most recent investment, OpenSea’s value has now surpassed $13.3 billion. Apart from Paradigm and Coatue, OpenSea noted that there were a number of both new and existing investors that participated in the round. Related: Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs catch up to CryptoPunks, flips floor price OpenSea...
Crypto Biz: What’s up with Jack? Dec. 16–23
When you’re no longer at the helm of a publicly-traded company, you have more leeway to express controversial views. Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey took to social media this week to express his discontent over venture capital’s role in Web 3.0. Some of his Twitter followers agreed with his views, others disagreed and some even blocked him entirely. Below is the concise version of the latest “Crypto Biz” newsletter, which is sent to your inbox every Thursday. For a comprehensive breakdown of business developments over the last week, register for the full newsletter below. “You don’t own Web 3.0,” says Dorsey Dorsey’s gripe with Web 3.0 — a broad term that refers to a more decentralized and interconnected version of the internet — stems from th...
Binance VC arm leads $60M round in cross-chain protocol Multichain
Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of Binance cryptocurrency exchange, has led a financing round for the cross-chain protocol Multichain, previously known as Anyswap. Shortly after rebranding from Anyswap last week, Multichain has raised $60 million in a seed funding round led by Binance Labs, the firm officially announced on Dec. 21. Other participants in the raise included major VC firms and industry investors like Sequoia China, IDG Capital, Three Arrows Capital, Primitive Ventures, DeFiance Capital, Circle Ventures, Hypersphere Ventures, HashKey and Magic Ventures. Apart from providing capital investment for Multichain, Binance is also building a stronger relationship with the cross-chain protocol. On Dec. 20, Multichain announced that it is now officially recommended...
Crypto Biz: All I want for Christmas is Bitcoin, Dec. 9–16
On Wednesday, the United States Federal Reserve wrapped up its final policy meeting of 2021 by voting to keep interest rates at record lows. In doing so, the Fed set the stage for a series of interest rate hikes beginning in the spring, which will be accompanied by a more accelerated taper of its bond-buying program. While the Fed’s decision to reduce market liquidity could impact crypto investors in the short term, Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and DeFi are carving out their own narratives heading into 2022. Those narratives could supersede the latest episode of central-bank tightening. Below is the concise version of the latest “Crypto Biz” newsletter. For a comprehensive breakdown of business developments over the last week, register for the full newsletter below. Block’s Cash App will all...
