2 years ago
Bain Capital, the concern steadfast with astir $155 cardinal successful assets nether management, has launched a $530 cardinal money focused exclusively connected the crypto ecosystem.
Bain Capital Crypto is “oriented astir early-stage investing each the mode done liquid tokens,” Bain Capital Ventures (BCV) spouse Stefan Cohen told CoinDesk during an interview.
It’s the latest accepted concern steadfast to spell full hog into the astir $2 trillion cryptocurrency sector, pursuing Sequoia and others that person made their intentions wide successful caller months.
So far, the Bain money has deployed conscionable nether $100 cardinal successful superior crossed astir a twelve portfolio companies. The investments were mostly successful early-stage, pre-launch protocol projects, said Cohen.
“We’re astatine the precise aboriginal innings of a multi-decade exertion displacement by which the net is going to beryllium re-architected connected open, community-owned nationalist standards,” Cohen told CoinDesk. “In bid to decently put against that macro trend, we truly request a dedicated concern level that’s designed astir the needs of the founders and the ecosystem.”
Cohen and BCV spouse Alex Evans are co-leading the fund, which present has 7 members divided astir evenly betwixt researchers and investors.
Bain Capital Crypto is broadly funny successful the decentralized concern (DeFi) and Web 3 categories, but the money has a narrower absorption connected protocols and the autochthonal tokens that powerfulness them.
“The fig 1 precedence is investing successful the infrastructure,” said Cohen. “That would beryllium furniture 1 scaling solutions, privateness products, middleware, retention solutions and the benignant of components utilized to physique the eventual net services we deliberation we’ll beryllium interacting with successful the future.”
Crypto requires a caller benignant of concern squad that besides has the capableness to actively enactment successful protocol governance, said Evans.
“You should look for america to physique our resume on-chain. We privation to usage and enactment successful the protocols and companies we are progressive in,” said Evans.
Bain isn’t caller to crypto investing, having antecedently backed concern rounds for DeFi protocol Compound Finance, CoinDesk genitor institution Digital Currency Group and bitcoin (BTC) rewards level Lolli. Bain Capital Ventures co-led BlockFi’s $350 cardinal backing round past year.
A crypto-specific Bain money was hinted astatine successful a regulatory filing past September. The filing was for “BCV Crypto Fund I: and had made nary income astatine that time.
Bain Capital Crypto is the latest motion that organization investors are taking a much hands-on attack with crypto opportunities. Last month, venerable task superior steadfast Sequoia Capital said it would rise up to $600 million for its archetypal crypto-specific fund.
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