Pantera Raises $125 Million for Third Crypto Venture Fund

Pantera Capital has secured $125 million for its crypto venture fund, according to a recent Coindesk reported in a recent report.

The crypto-focused venture capital firm is aiming to raise $175 million before the target March closure. Although the firm has secured a major chunk of the desired amount, the wrath of the market can be clearly seen as in December it claimed that two-thirds of the target amount had already been raised.

Speaking to Coindesk, Pantera partner Paul Veradittikit said: “We’re in a bear market and fundraising has slowed for the entire industry, whether you’re an entrepreneur or a fund.”

Veradittikit also revealed that the initial capital for the firm came from high net-worth individuals, family offices, and others that could move funds quickly.

Veradittikit said that the firm is now targeting a new category of investors including endowments and pension funds.

As Finance Magnates earlier reported, this is the company’s third investment fund. In 2016 it raised $13 million for ‘Venture Fund II,’ and in 2017 it raised $25 million for the debutant ‘ICO Fund.’

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According to Coindesk, the new fund will “invest in later stage rounds to support the more mature companies.” The report also detailed that half of the fund’s capital will be reserved for follow-on funding. The firm is also aiming to invest $3 million to $8 million for equity stakes of as much as 15 percent. Moreover, the fund managers are willing to put $1 million to $3 million for equity stakes of 10–20 percent in the seed stage of blockchain firms.

The pitch deck of the new fund showed that the firm aims to support 30 to 50 companies compared to 44 projects by the previous two funds.

@PanteraCapital has invested into @bakktapp, the digital asset exchange from @NYSE. Co-investors include @Microsoft , @BCG , and other strategic investors. Represents a huge step in the evolution of cryptocurrency. https://t.co/FfJjv3YCK0

— Pantera Capital (@PanteraCapital) August 3, 2018

“It’s a great time to be investing. I think we have an opportunity here to be investing in companies with good valuations and great teams and that will be around a long time,” Veradittikit added.

Facing SEC’s Crackdown

In December 2018, in a letter to the investors, Pantera disclosed that around 25 percent of its fund’s capital was invested in projects that could be non-compliant with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) policies. However, the firm assured that one-third of the projects under question are still functional.