Cryptocurrency firm, Pantera Capital, seeks $175m for 3rd venture fund

Pantera Capital, which has pioneered investments in cryptocurrency assets, has set its goal for its third venture fund at $175 million, surpassing the $25 million raised for its second fund and the $13 million from its first one, according to TechCrunch.

A new filing for a Pantera venture fund offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission notes the company has raised $71.445 million in commitments from 90 investors. The new offering, which began on July 31, 2018, will last more than a year. Dan Morehead, the founder of Pantera Capital, is listed as an executive officer in the new filing, along with Matthew Gorham and Pantera Advisors LLC.

Paul Veradittakit, a Pantera partner, said the amount already raised represents the first close.

The filing, signed on Aug. 15, 2018 by Ryan Davis, chief financial officer, declined to disclose the revenue size of the company issuing the offering. No proceeds were proposed as payments to persons named as executive officers, directors or promoters of the new offering.

Pantera Capital is focused exclusively on cryptocurrency and blockchain projects, as it sees blockchain as the next step in the evolution of equity, and as the “final piece” of the internet protocol. Morehead has said that investments in bitcoin can go up 25 times.

Pantera Capital’s funds typically have 30 different cryptos to offer exposure to a wide variety of assets.

The company’s investment strategy is to invest early in token sales of the most promising blockchain protocols as a way to maximize returns.

Veradittakit and other company officers stated in a recent conference call that institutional capital is on the way for cryptocurrency.

Morehead last year said an unnamed strategic investor and institutions and individuals interest in exposure to the crypto market had invested in the company’s bitcoin hedge fund, which has already invested in altcoin projects such as Civic, 0x, FunFair and OmiseGO.