Crypto.com Capital Expands $200M Fund to $500M
Newly hired GP Jon Russell says a larger pool of capital is coming from Crypto.com’s balance sheet.
Jan 18, 2022 at 4:35 a.m. UTCUpdated May 11, 2023 at 5:54 p.m. UTC
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Singapore-based Crypto.com Capital is expanding the size of its fund to $500 million, from the $200 million it announced in March 2021.
- Jon Russell, its newly hired General Partner based in Bangkok, told CoinDesk on Tuesday the fund will do seed and series-A deals, typically up to a $10 million check for the series-A.
- So far Crypto.com’s maiden fund has invested in play-to-earn guild YGG SEA, Ledger and Frax Finance
- The fund will be focused on investing in decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFT) and gaming. It will typically want to lead rounds.
- Russell said the fund will be focused on growing the overall crypto ecosystem, not about making investments where Crypto.com thinks it can get business.
- Companies the fund invests in won’t necessarily get listed on the Crypto.com exchange, he said.
- While Crypto.com capital is expanding, management wants to keep the fund lean and entrepreneurial. It doesn’t want to become "an a16z" with hundreds of staff — it's not relatable to entrepreneurs in the crypto space that run a thin organization.
- Although the fund is based in Singapore and Russell in Bangkok, it will have a global remit.
- In 2021, crypto firms raised $30 billion from VCs, according to PitchBook. Despite the bear market, there’s no sign of this slowing down as alongside Crypto.com Capital’s announcement FTX kicked off the year establishing a $2 billion venture fund to invest in crypto startups.
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