Valkyrie, a crypto asset management company, is launching a financial investment product. The Tennessee-based company said Tuesday it was moving into venture capital and plans to raise $30 million by investing in Israeli startups at the early stages.
Lluis Perdragosa, a well-known expert in venture capital, was appointed to lead Valkyrie Ventures. Pedragosa is a veteran of Israel’s VC scene who is the founder and former partner of cybersecurity-oriented Israeli VC Team8, which focuses on enterprise technologies, artificial intelligence, and fintech.
Valkyrie will be focusing geographically on startups in Israel or the US. It plans to invest in startups that can bridge the gap to web3 and average users.
Pedragosa believes that filling the gap between ordinary web2 users and connections to web3 assets will lead to the next billion people using blockchain.
Valkyrie Ventures fund will invest $250,000 to $1 Million in behind-the scenes infrastructure firms that build secure blockchain infrastructure.
Pedragosa claimed that Valkyrie has invested in a Web3 startup “Bunches”, who is developing a messaging platform suitable for wallets.
The company stated that Valkyrie will give Israeli startups access the U.S. market. Valkyrie is a Tennessee-based firm with a largely U.S.-based network of contacts and clients that will help “bridge the gap” for Israeli startups, Pedragosa explained.
The Valkyrie Fund seeks to raise between $30 million- $50 million. This announcement is made amid significant industry downturn. Due to market turmoil, many firms have reduced their valuations and declared bankruptcy. Some even closed down shops. Pedragosa says that is not a concern. Pedragosa said that market bears historically have been a time to build in the industry.
Crypto Venture Capital Funding Explodes
Valkyrie’s announcement comes at a time when several firms continue to splash capital into crypto venture funds.
Venture capitalists invested more than $27 billion in crypto startups last year. This is more than the total amount of investment made over the past 10 years.
Venture capital arms of crypto companies were instrumental in many of these investments, which are businesses whose growth is dependent on the expansion and maintenance of the ecosystem.
Coinbase and other crypto companies believe that blockchain technology will enable the evolution of the internet, and change the way the world moves from Web 2.0 and Web5 to Web5.
There are calls for decentralization of the internet due to the dominance by big tech in internet usage and control over personal data. The third iteration of the internet – Web3 – will be defined by open-source technology, using blockchain technology to be permissionless and trustless.
FTX’s crypto exchange launched a $2 Billion venture fund in January. It is one of the largest investment vehicles ever created and aims to tap into crypto market startups.
Coinbase Ventures is the investment arm of Coinbase’s crypto exchange. It supports firms that build infrastructures such as blockchain network services and crypto financial services. Metaverse allows users to buy and sell digital goods in order to live a virtual life like NFTs.
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