Paradigm raises $850 million for third crypto fund

Author: Ana Paula Pereira, CoinTelegraph; Compiler: Deng Tong, Golden Finance

Venture capital firm Paradigm has completed the raising of its third fund for early-stage investments in cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based projects.

According to a June 13 announcement, The venture capital firm has completed an $850 million investment fund, making it one of the largest cryptocurrency fund raises in history. Paradigm has been discussing this new fund over the past few months as the cryptocurrency market has rebounded.

“When we founded Paradigm in 2018, we believed that cryptocurrency would be one of the most important technological and economic shifts in the coming decades. Six years later, that belief has only grown stronger,” said Matt Huang, co-founder and managing partner of Paradigm.

Paradigm is an investor in several notable cryptocurrency companies, including Coinbase, Fireblocks, Blast, Optimism, Uniswap, MakerDAO, Chainalysis, MoonPay, Gitcoin, and Friend.tech, among others. The firm also invested $278 million in now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX. In November 2022, the firm wrote down its investment to zero.

For months, speculation about the size of the new fund has persisted. In September 2023, The Information reported that the company was aiming to raise $1 billion. A few months later, in April, Bloomberg reported that Paradigm was discussing the prospect of raising between $750 million and $850 million with investors.

The new fund is Paradigm’s largest since it closed a $2.5 billion fund in November 2021.

Venture capital investments in crypto and blockchain startups have surged. According to data compiled by Galaxy Research, investors poured $2.49 billion into 603 deals in the first quarter of 2024, a 29% increase in funding and a 68% increase in deal volume.

Another venture capital firm raising money for a new cryptocurrency fund is Pantera Capital. The firm is reportedly seeking more than $1 billion for the new fund, which will offer investments in a “full range” of blockchain assets. The fund is scheduled to launch in April 2025.