Bain Capital Ventures, one of the world’s largest startup investment firms with more than $5 billion in assets under management, has announced the creation of a new $560 million fund that will focus on crypto-currency-related investments.
Bain Capital Ventures (BCV), the venture capital arm of private equity firm Bain Capital, has launched its first crypto-currency-focused fund, worth $560 million.
Like many crypto investment funds, Bain Capital Crypto is interested in the startup stages of quality crypto projects. But according to Stefan Cohen, one of BCV’s partners, the fund will also focus on liquid tokens, which are already in circulation and therefore more risky.
Bain Capital Crypto is primarily interested in the decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web 3 sectors, but the fund focuses more specifically on the protocols and native tokens that power them.
“The number one priority is to invest in infrastructure. This includes layer 1 scaling solutions, privacy products, middleware, storage solutions, and all sorts of components used to build the ultimate Internet services we expect to interact with in the future.”
Stefan Cohen
Of course, the creation of a crypto fund from a reputable investment firm is nothing new. In fact, Sequoia Capital launched its $600 million crypto fund less than a month ago. But these substantial inflows come at a particular time for the crypto market as well as other financial markets.
The unstable geopolitical situation seems to be scaring a lot of investors without cooling the big fish.
Among these sharks, Bain Capital Ventures is not a newcomer to the crypto world, having previously backed companies such as BlockFi, Compound and Digital Currency Group. The creation of a fund focused entirely on these new technologies remains particularly interesting news that has been looming for several months with the creation of the name BCV Crypto Fund I.
Bain Capital Ventures is not concerned with short-term fluctuations in the crypto currency market and is looking to invest in crypto startups with a 10-year time horizon. The fund says it is ready to invest in around 30 startups over the next two to three years and also plans to actively participate in the governance of crypto projects through its investments.
“You should expect us to build our resume on blockchain. We want to use and participate in the protocols and companies we are involved in”.
Alex Evans, co-leader of crypto funds BCV
