Steven Willinger has departed from Coinbase Ventures, the corporate venture capital subsidiary of US-based cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase.
Willinger exclusively told Global Corporate Venturing that he plans to focus on advisory roles rather than joining another corporate venturing unit.
Coinbase Ventures hired Willinger in June 2021 to lead VC deals, and he helped the unit invest in blockchain and web3 technology developers.
Prior to this, Willinger spent four years as an investor at Capital One Ventures, the corporate VC arm of US-based financial services firm Capital One. During his stint there, GCV named him a Rising Star in 2021.
Formed in 2018, Coinbase Ventures invests in early-stage developers of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology products.
Coinbase Ventures has more than 300 active portfolio companies and has scored about a dozen exits, such as music NFT platform Mint Songs, now part of music streaming service Napster, and tokenised debt agreement developer Dharma Labs, which was acquired by web3 marketplace OpenSea.
Coinbase was one of the most active corporate venturers in 2022, according to data collected by GCV Analytics; however, the corporate’s portfolio included the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX.