Paradigm is seeking to raise new capital for cryptocurrency investments as venture capitalists flock back to the fast-growing digital asset industry.
Crypto investment firm Paradigm plans to raise up to $850 million for new funds after Bitcoin recovers past all-time highs and the cryptocurrency moves closer to its 2021 peak, Bloomberg reported on April 2. I did.
Investment in cryptocurrency protocols and ideas surged more than 50% last month, with capitalists investing around $1.1 billion in the digital asset sector, according to RootData. Defi solutions running on Ethereum, Polygon, and other decentralized finance-focused blockchains attracted the most funding.
Paradigm aims to raise $750 million in 2021 and beyond, the company’s largest ever round. At the time, the company raised $2.5 billion for its cryptocurrency fund, the largest of its kind until Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) raised $4.5 billion. Cryptocurrency investment vehicle in May 2022.
Other VCs, including a16z, Hack VC and Hivemind, are participating in fundraisers ranging from $50 million to $150 million as cryptocurrencies become popular once again.
Paradigm’s Blistering FTX Bet
Paradigm, led by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam and former Sequoia Capital executive Matt Huang, was also an investor in bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Huang was part of the team that invested $278 million in Sam Bankman-Fried’s venture.
Last November, a former Sequoia partner told jurors that Bankman-Fried defrauded Paradigm about FTX’s operations. Hwang’s testimony during the three-week trial contributed to the conviction of the FTX founder.
Huang’s company zeroed out FTX bets after the company went bankrupt, but Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding investors and customers of more than $8 billion.