Blockchain technology firm Bitfury has added an investment banker to its board of directors, and a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) member to its advisory board, according to an official company blog post Nov 21. Founded in 2011, Bitfury is recognized as the largest non-Chinese company that develops Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain software and provides infrastructure for BTC mining. The newly-appointed voting member to the Bitfury board of directors, Antoine Dresch, is co-founder of tech industry-focused private equity (PE) fund Koreyla Capital. Dresche has over 20 years of experience in investment banking with Goldman Sachs, UBS London and Morgan …

Ivy League U.S. university Yale is said to be one of the investors that helped to raise $400 million for a major new cryptocurrency-focused fund, Bloomberg reports October 5. The fund, dubbed ‘Paradigm,’ was reportedly created by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam, former Sequoia Capital partner Matt Huang, and Charles Noyes, formerly of stalwart crypto fund Pantera Capital. Huang was said to have left Sequoia in June to embark on establishing the fund together with Ehrsam, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal at the time. Bloomberg has today cited an anonymous source as saying that Yale – whose $30 …

“Traditional” venture capital (VC) investment in blockchain and crypto firms has almost tripled in the first three quarters of 2018, according to a new Diar report published September 30. Diar cites data from Pitchbook that indicates that blockchain and crypto-related firms have raised almost $3.9 billion in VC capital in so far this year — a 280 percent rise as compared with last year. The rise comes not just in terms of an increasing number of deals, but also in the burgeoning median value of each, which has grown by over $1 million this year. VC investment and deal count …

South Korea’s largest venture capital (VC) firm, Korea Investment Partners (KIP), is investing in its first blockchain startup, TEMCO, according to an October 1 press release. KIP is known for its investments in high-ranking firms that include Naver — Korea’s largest search engine, as well as owner of the popular Japanese messaging app LINE — and Korean messaging giant Kakao, among others. Both LINE and Kakao have made multiple inroads into the crypto space, with the former launching its own crypto token and exchange, and the latter establishing its own blockchain subsidiary. According to its official website, TEMCO specializes in …

U.S.-based venture capital firm Ribbit Capital, the portfolio of which includes notable cryptocurrency and blockchain projects, is aiming to raise $420 million for its latest fund, according to an SEC filing dated September 12. The fund will reportedly be the fifth venture of Ribbit with limited partners, while the $420 million figure is a “nominal increase” from the $300 million the company attracted last year. Founded in 2012, Ribbit’s portfolio is marked by cooperation with such industry leaders as cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, zero-fee stock and crypto trading platform Robinhood, finance company Credit Karma, and automotive insurance platform Root Insurance. Ribbit …

Iconiq Funds, the asset management arm of Germany-based Iconiq Holding — the team behind the ICO and token sale accelerator program Iconiq Lab — is launching a series of digital asset index funds beginning in Q4 2018, the company announced on Aug. 17, 2018. Investment into crypto assets will become available through traditional and regulated financial vehicles, such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded notes (ETNs). The first digital asset index fund is planned to be launched under Maltese jurisdiction as a Professional Investor Fund (PIF). It is currently under review by Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). The company claims …

Crypto hedge fund Pantera Capital is seeking to raise $175 million for its third venture fund, a six-fold increase from its previous fund target, TechCrunch reports August 16. For Pantera’s debut fund in 2013, the firm had raised $13 million, rising to $25 million for its second. TechCrunch quotes Pantera partner Paul Veradittakit as noting the new target is a “function of how fast the space is moving, the talent coming in, the opportunities, and the sizing of rounds”: “With more interesting later-stage investments [on our radar], too, we want to be flexible and able to move with the market.” …

Enterprise-focused blockchain startup Axoni has raised $32 million in a funding round led by Goldman Sachs and other high-profile banks and venture capital investors, Forbes reports August 14. The $32 million Series B funding round was led by Goldman Sachs and Nyca Partners, with numerous other investors including Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Andreessen Horowitz. The fresh investment brings Axoni’s total financing to $55 million to date. Axoni’s co-founder, Greg Schvey, told Forbes that the round represented not just an injection of capital but a “deep strategic” alliance, given that many of the investors are themselves innovating the traditional financial …

Ledger, one of the leading security-focused hardware wallet suppliers, has sold more than one million hardware crypto wallets in 2017, earning a profit of $29 million, the firm said in an interview with Forbes July 9. Having raised $75 million this January in a Series B funding round led by European venture capital firm Draper Esprit, the Paris-based company is planning to raise more funds this year. Ledger’s president Pascal Gauthier revealed that while the January round was focused on venture capitalists, “who could advise on Ledger’s consumer Nano S business,” the new round intends to attract “industrial partners who …

American venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners has raised $1.8 billion, which it plans to invest in startups in various fields, including digital currency, Reuters reported July 10. Lightspeed told Reuters that $1.05 billion of the new funding will be allocated to invest in more mature companies. The firm is planning an expansion to Southeast Asia by contributing to companies active in fields from cryptocurrency and biotechnology to the cosmetics industry. Since startups rely on funding from venture capital rather than public markets, Lightspeed will invest in a company repeatedly over the course of several years in order to keep …

Union Square Ventures (USV), a private equity and venture capital firm, has plans to invest in blockchain and cryptocurrencies over the course of the next 10 years, CNBC reports June 29. Those plans, however, do not include establishing a separate fund. Albert Wenger, managing partner at USV, told CNBC that “we see a lot of upside to keeping it under the same roof.” Despite prevailing the bear market in cryptocurrency, the company has an optimistic long-term view of the industry. Wenger said: “Investors are rationally pouring a lot of money into this sector, because I think people are seeing the …

The venture capital firm behind Snapchat is looking at ways to increase their investments in the crypto industry, tech journal Recode reported May 17. Aaron Batalion, a partner at venture capital firm Lightspeed, is leading an effort to boost the firm’s investment by exploring three methods: setting up a new fund, carving out a portion of an existing fund, or launching an entirely new project, Recode reports, citing “sources”. According to Recode, Lightspeed is leaning toward carving out part of an existing fund for crypto investments rather than setting up an entirely new fund, which they had been considering over …