Blockchain investment firm Pantera Capital is reportedly looking to raise a total of $175 million from a cryptocurrency investment venture called Venture Fund III. The fund has already raised over $71 million from 90 investors.
According to TechCrunch, raising $175 million is an enormous jump from its previous venture fund, in which it raised $25 million. In its first venture fund, closed in 2013, Pantera raised $13 million.
Paul Veradittakit, a partner with the firm, noted the amount Pantera is looking to raise is a “function of how fast the space is moving, the talent coming in, the opportunities, and the sizing of rounds.”
“It's all perspective. #bitcoin is up 82% year-on-year” interview with @CNBCFastMoney https://t.co/2vUkFNYuHA pic.twitter.com/rPwmVEqFrt
— Pantera Capital (@PanteraCapital) August 15, 2018
Through a blog post, Pantera Capital revealed its Venture Fund III has already found its first investment: Bakkt, the company the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), owner of the New York Stock Exchange, launched in a partnership with tech giant Microsoft and coffeehouse chain Starbucks.
The investment fund’s CEO, Dan Morehead, has earlier this month stated investors should be focused on Bakkt, and not on bitcoin ETF rejections, referring to Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) rejection of the Winklevoss twins’ bitcoin ETF.
Morehead has in the past made a very bullish bitcoin price prediction, as he stated the flagship cryptocurrency is going to reach $67,500 by the end of 2019. At press time, the cryptocurrency is trading at $6,400.
Pantera Capital’s Hedge Funds
Pantera Capital, founded in 2013, has been juggling various investment strategies. Per TechCrunch, it manages its venture funds, structured like traditional venture funds, along with three hedge funds: an ICO-focused fund, a Bitcoin-focused fund, and an altcoin-focused fund.
Its ICO fund reportedly focuses on token pre-sales, so the investment firm can get a discount by “getting in early, when it’s just a team and a white paper.” Its BTC fund, which has attracted various investors after being launched five years ago, has seen a lifetime return of over 10,000%.
The firm’s altcoin-focused fund invests in cryptocurrencies already listed on crypto exchanges through an approach that “includes machine learning.” As CryptoGlobe covered Pantera Capital was affected by the crypto market’s bearish trend, so much so that as of June it was down by 51%, after underperforming bitcoin in May.