Blockchain Capital, a venture capital firm founded by Bart Stephens and Brad Stephens in 2013, has successfully closed two new funds, raising a total of $580 million.
The company’s general partner, Spencer Bogart, confirmed this news to TechCrunch, stating that the funds consist of a sixth early-stage fund and the company’s first “opportunity fund.”
About two-thirds of the $580 million will be allocated to the early-stage fund, while the remaining one-third will be spent on the opportunity fund.
Blockchain capital increase for two new crypto funds
According to the report, the sixth early-stage fund, valued at $380 million, will primarily focus on investing in newer companies and protocols during pre-seed and Series A financing rounds. On this issue, Spencer Bogart claimed:
It does more of what we’ve been doing for the last ten years. This is our bread and butter, and we wanted to stay on par with LPs [and] think about previous fund sizes, but still grow a bit.
On the other hand, the $200 million opportunity fund will focus on late-stage investments starting from Series B and beyond. This strategic allocation reflects the company’s intention to continue supporting early-stage projects while taking advantage of promising opportunities in the later stages of development.
The funds will be deployed across six sectors, namely decentralized finance, centralized finance, centralized infrastructure, decentralized infrastructure, gaming and consumer/social.
According to TechCrunch, by focusing on these sectors, Blockchain Capital aims to remain at the forefront of innovation within the blockchain ecosystem.
Blockchain Capital’s investor base consists of two categories: strategic limited partners (LPs) such as Visa and PayPal, and long-term committed capital from entities such as university endowments, family offices and sovereign wealth funds. Bogart further stated:
The strategic partners such as Visa and PayPal are more limited because they are more active. It’s not just an LP investment; they don’t care so much about the return, but want us to be the eyes and ears on the ground for who else they need to work with.
According to the report, the opportunity fund will be used to invest in projects that the company may have missed during its initial funding rounds. This allows Blockchain Capital to participate in the growth and development of these projects, even if it was not involved from the start.
Bogart highlighted that Blockchain Capital now plays a leading role in “most” of the funding rounds it participates in, committing more than 50% of the funding, while also influencing the price, writing the term sheet and securing board seats.
Looking ahead, Blockchain Capital plans to continue investing in blockchain-based startups with a long-term vision, staying true to its core focus of the past decade. The company remains committed to its niche within the blockchain industry and has no plans to diversify into other sectors or investment strategies.
Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com