A16z co-founder backs crypto startup from Goldman Sachs, BlockTower ex-staff
A new crypto startup Neoclassic Capital founded by former employees from Goldman Sachs, BlockTower raised funding from Marc Andreessen, Chris Dixon, and Jeff Vinik.
A pair of alumni from banking giant Goldman Sachs, BlockTower Capital secured funding for their new venture aimed at investing in tokenization of real-world assets, entertainment, crypto gaming and, social projects.
The so-called Neoclassic Capital founded by Michael Bucella and Steve Lee has got support from a16z‘s co-founder Marc Andreessen, Chris Dixon, and Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik. In an interview with Bloomberg, Lee implied that the firm wants to back real products, noting that in the 2017 bull cycle “99.9% were speculation.” Discussing Neoclassic’s geographical direction, Bucella highlighted the firm’s aim to bridge Western crypto enterprises with markets in Japan, South Korea, and other Asian regions, capitalizing on the firm’s expertise in that area.
“There’s a lot of the Western world that can’t tap into these very localized regions, that’s where the expertise of Neoclassic is. In the U.S., it’s still murky. That’s why you can’t generate enormous user bases.”
Michael Bucella
While the size of the funding remains undisclosed, the report says the firm also received investments from global investors such as L1 Digital AG, a Zurich-based investment advisor, and Genki Oda, an executive at SBI Holdings. Beyond direct investments, the Miami-headquartered firm also wants to use the proceedings to launch hedge funds, growth equity, credit, and others in the future.
At the same time, Asia-based family offices are drawn to the crypto market, propelled by surging global interest in digital assets, particularly Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Zann Kwan, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Revo Digital Family Office underscored this trend, noting the opportunity it presents for diversifying portfolios and enhancing returns via both direct and indirect cryptocurrency investments.
