Barry Silbert, founder of financial transaction platform SecondMarket, launched a cryptocurrency holding company called Digital Currency Group (DCG) on Tuesday with funding from backers including insurance firm New York Life and payment services firm Mastercard.
DCG has not disclosed the amount of capital it has raised.
Other investors in DCG include Transamerica Ventures, the venture capital firm funded by insurance group Aegon, as well as Bain Capital Ventures, Oak HC/FT, Solon Mack Capital, CIBC, Novel TMT, RRE Ventures and FirstMark Capital.
DCG will make strategic investments in cryptocurrency startups but will be structured as company rather than a VC fund. It intends to build the world’s largest portfolio of digital currency startups.
Silbert said: “Being structured as a company, versus a fund, allows us to evolve with the industry given our permanent capital base and flexible mandate.”
In addition to its venture capital investing, DCG also owns two subsidiaries – a bitcoin trading firm called Genesis Global Trading and Greyscale Investments, which manages the publicly traded Bitcoin Trust. DCG plans to also launch a Bitcoin-themed conference in 2016.
Silbert announced the launch of DCG at the Money 20/20 event in Las Vegas, a week after stock exchange Nasdaq agreed to acquire SecondMarket, which helps private companies sell shares, for an undisclosed sum.