Coinfund, Polychain Raise Over $350M

Venture capital firms Coinfund and Polychain Capital have successfully raised a total of $350 million in their latest fundraising rounds, showcasing returning confidence in the crypto space. 

Coinfund Raises $152M 

New York-based venture capital firm, Coinfund, has successfully raised $152 million in its latest funding round, showcasing confidence in the crypto space despite the recent pullback by many investors. The firm, known for its portfolio of 105 companies, prioritizes projects that contribute to the development of crypto infrastructure, with a specific focus on enabling greater decentralization.

Polychain Raises $200M Of $400M Goal

In a similar chain of events, another blockchain-based venture capital firm, Polychain Capital, has also completed its initial close, amassing approximately $200 million for its fourth crypto venture capital fund. 

The total goal for the fund is set at $400 million, in line with the amount specified in an April filing with the SEC for the Polychain Ventures IV (Parallel) LP fund. 

With just under $2.6 billion of assets under management, the VC firm struggled during the crypto winter, having to lay off staff, much like many other crypto-focused organizations. Crypto investments took a major hit last year, with funding for crypto projects shrinking from $9.1 billion a year earlier to only $1.7 billion. 

However, the recent crypto-positive ruling in the SEC vs. Ripple case has renewed interest in crypto, with Coinbase shares hitting their yearly high. 

Coinfund Continues Crypto Bet

Coinfund has already made significant investments in companies such as Giza, an AI-focused venture that raised about $3 million in seed funding, and infrastructure projects like Cosmos, where it helped raise $10 million to advance the development of its Neutron smart contract platform in collaboration with Binance Labs and others.

This latest move by Coinfund comes amidst a broader retreat from crypto investments after a challenging year marked by multiple failures, including the collapse of the TerraLuna stablecoin and FTX exchange. Additionally, higher interest rates have made borrowing more expensive, complicating the fundraising landscape.

Focusing On Scalability, Interoperability

Coinfund’s co-founder and chief investment officer, Alex Felix, explained that the implosion of cryptocurrency exchange FTX last year had led developers to double down on completing the roadmap to a decentralized application developer stack. As a result, scalability, interoperability, and user experience have become renewed areas of focus.

While previous rounds of fundraising centered on established categories like NFT gaming and DeFi, this latest round will shift the spotlight towards emerging sectors, particularly early-stage crypto start-ups, especially those involving artificial intelligence.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.