US-based venture capital firm Cadenza Ventures has raised $50m for an early-stage cryptocurrency-focused vehicle anchored by mutual fund manager VanEck Associates, from limited partners including multiple corporates.
Virtual trading card producer Dapper Labs, blockchain platform developer Solana and decentralised token platform operator Tron committed to the fund, as did financial services provider Babel Finance, WorldQuant Ventures, Mirana, Lennertz and Social Leverage.
The LPs were filled out by private investors affiliated with Kraken Ventures, a subsidiary of crypto services group Kraken, as well as virtual currency exchange Coinbase, AngelList and Norwest Venture Partners.
Founded in 2018 and also known as Cadenza Capital, Cadenza targets seed to series A-stage digital finance and blockchain technology developers.
The fund has already invested in cryptocurrency trading platform Rain, crypto investment product developer Vauld, crypto exchange Lemon Cash, crypto yield aggregator Tulip Protocol and Zebedee, which helps game developers incorporate bitcoin into their products.
The firm’s earlier investments have included crypto product developer BlockFi, crypto portfolio management service Blockfolio and FalconX, which operates a cryptocurrency trading platform.
Max Shapiro, managing partner at Cadenza, said: “We are very excited to continue investing in entrepreneurs and developers that are working tirelessly to revolutionise financial services around the world.”
