Rockefeller's VC Arm Venrock Feels Lure of Cryptocurrencies

Despite the rise of so-called initial coin offerings, or ICOs, cryptocurrency startups ‎are still landing venture capital funding. US venture capital firm Venrock ‎Associates is now branching out into the cryptocurrency space as the company that sprang from the Rockefeller fortune wants to get a piece of the action.‎

David Pakman, a partner at the New York-based firm, told Bloomberg that the ‎VC fund will invest explicitly in firms that focus on Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Read this Term and digital ‎currencies.‎

Venrock plans to invest in blockchain startups using the traditional venture capital ‎fashion, offering cash in return for equity, before any potential ICO. It’s too early ‎to say for certain whether the change will lead to outsized investment ‎returns, ‎but Pakman says these tokens have the potential to ‎increase in value and can be traded - thus providing investors with a means to cash ‎in. ‎

“I think this is one of the most transformative tech ecosystems and has the ‎possibility of creating hundreds of companies worth billions of dollars each,” ‎Pakman said.‎

Venrock has already joined a Brooklyn-based cryptocurrency ‎investor group called CoinFund, which helps startups build ‎blockchain-based projects.‎

‎“I am approaching this from the very first that this is a fundamentally ‎interesting technological innovation that enabled very serious value creation ‎and may also be a legitimate way to build value away from internet platforms ‎of today,” Pakman added.‎

Venrock was established in 1969 by the grandson of John Rockefeller as the ‎investment business of the Rockefeller family, although the firm opened up to outside ‎investors in 1995.‎

Over the years, Venrock invested in what would later become web giants, ‎including Intel, Apple, and LinkedIn, among many other big winners. As such, the firm is also feeling the lure of Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw Read this Term and fear the potential ‎downside if they miss the boat. ‎