Crypto-focused venture capital fund Paradigm is in talks with investors to raise $750 million to $850 million, Bloomberg reported. In 2021, Paradigm raised $2.5 billion, its largest fundraiser.
If Paradigm successfully raises $750 million, it would be the biggest fund raised by a crypto-focused venture fund since the crypto market crash began in late 2022. In May 2022, when the crypto market was at its peak, Andreessen Horowitz raised a record $4.5 billion.
In 2023, the total venture fund investment in the crypto sector was $10.7 billion, down 68% from $33.3 billion in 2022. Sequoia Capital, a prominent venture capital firm, reduced its crypto-focused fund by 66%.
After the recent comeback of the crypto market, several VC funds have raised or are working to raise funds. For example, Hack VC completed a $150 million funding round in February, which aimed to invest in Web3 and financial infrastructure. It’s planning to raise another $100 million. Hivemind Capital is working to raise a $50 million NFT fund.
Paradigm’s most notable investments in Web3-related projects include Coinbase, Uniswap, Gitcoin, Optimism, Blast, Fireblocks, and friend.tech. Paradigm was also an FTX investor but wrote its $278 million investment down to zero four days after FTX filed for bankruptcy.
More recently, after a funding round by Paradigm, Merkle Manufactory’s valuation crossed $1 billion. Merkle Manufactory is the firm behind the social network Farcaster.
