Paradigm targets $850m crypto fundraiser 

Paradigm is looking to raise new funds for crypto investments as venture capitalists flock back to the burgeoning digital asset industry. 

Crypto investment company Paradigm has plans to raise as much as $850 million for a fresh fund following Bitcoin’s recovery beyond an all-time high and cryptocurrency’s ascent near its 2021 peak, Bloomberg reported on April 2. 

According to RootData, investments into crypto protocols and ideas jumped by over 50% last month, as capitalists injected around $1.1 billion into the digital asset sector. Defi solutions running on Ethereum, Polygon, and other decentralized finance-centric blockchains attracted the most funds. 

Paradigm aims to pull together at least $750 million in what could be the firm’s largest haul since 2021. At the time, the company raised $2.5 billion for a crypto fund, the largest ever of its kind until Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) fielded a $4.5 billion crypto-investment vehicle in May 2022. 

Other VCs including a16z, Hack VC, and Hivemind are involved in fundraisers ranging from $50 million to $150 million as crypto garners steam once again. 

Paradigm’s sour FTX bet

Spearheaded by Coinbase Co-Founder Fred Ehrsam and former Sequoia Capital executive Matt Huang, Paradigm was also an investor in bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. Huang was part of a team that invested $278 million into Sam Bankman-Fried’s venture.

Last November, the ex-Sequoia partner told jurors that Bankman-Fried deceived Paradigm regarding FTX’s operations. Huang’s testimony during the three-week trial contributed to a conviction against FTX’s founder. 

While Huang’s firm marked its FTX bet down to zero following the firm’s bankruptcy, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding investors and customers of over $8 billion.