US-based venture capital firm Blockchain Capital closed its Blockchain Capital V fund at $300m on Tuesday with commitments from digital payment processor PayPal and payment services firm Visa.
Other limited partners (LPs) committed to the fund include undisclosed strategic investors, pension funds, university endowments and family offices. Some of the LPs, including Visa and PayPal, will participate in Blockchain Capital’s strategic partnership programme.
Founded in 2013, Blockchain Capital typically invests in companies and projects based on blockchain technology. It has backed more than 110 companies to date, investing both through equity and cryptocurrency assets.
The firm will now focus on blockchain infrastructure, decentralised finance, non-fungible tokens and emerging applications for blockchain-based technology. It has also promoted senior associate Aleks Larsen to partner.
Jose Fernandez da Ponte, vice president, general manager of blockchain, crypto and digital currencies at PayPal, said: “PayPal is committed to fostering an ecosystem of companies making digital currencies more accessible, useful and secure.
“Investing in Blockchain Capital’s new fund allows us to engage with the entrepreneurs driving the future of the decentralised economy and the new wave of financial services.”
Blockchain Capital raised $125m to close of its previous fund, Blockchain Capital IV, in March 2018, according to a regulatory filing. The following month blockchain-based financial transfer service Ripple provided $25m of its proprietary cryptocurrency, XRP, for the firm’s Parallel IV fund.